Tracking teledermatology: Before and after COVID
Facts at your fingertips
By Emily Margosian, assistant editor, March 1, 2021
This month marks the one-year anniversary of the shutdown of schools, businesses, and medical practices in response to COVID-19. While teledermatology was not widely utilized prior to the start of the pandemic, it became a key part of practice operations nearly overnight due to the physical shutdown or slowdown of many offices.
In addition to overall adoption, reimbursement for teledermatology has also increased over the course of the past year. According to the Academy’s Dermatologist Experience Under COVID-19 Survey, in May, 50% of dermatologists reported receiving teledermatology reimbursement. By October 2020, up to 76% of dermatologists reported that they were reimbursed for teledermatology services. As practices began to tentatively re-open for business in the early fall, teledermatology usage fell slightly from spring peaks, although it remained significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels.
See below for a timeline of how COVID-19 has impacted dermatologist’s use of telemedicine.
