New Dermatology telemedicine clinic serves patients in Fox Valley

Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Clinics-Fox Valley in Neenah will launch a dermatology telemedicine service Nov. 9. The clinic will offer consultations on unusual skin eruptions or lesions such as vascular birthmarks, vascular anomalies, hemangiomas, atopic dermatitis and drug eruptions.

In the telemedicine clinic, physicians use videoconferencing technology and synchronized handoffs with attending staff to provide care from a remote location. First, a nurse trained in telemedicine and dermatology will greet the patient and complete an assessment at the Neenah clinic. Then the dermatologist, who is at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, will join the group via videoconferencing. The child is examined, information is exchanged and questions are asked and answered. Still images of the epidermis are captured by the nurse and transferred to the physician for closer inspection. Finally, a diagnosis and treatment options are discussed with the patient and family.

Some dermatology conditions cannot be assessed through telemedicine and will require an in-person examination. These include:

• Bleeding lesions.
• Warts/molluscum.
• Deep lesions that require palpation as a part of the exam.
• Moles.

Telemedicine helps make specialized care available to families closer to their homes, which means patient families have less travel and time away from work. This method of delivering care also reduces wait times between appointments and improves continuity of care.

The use of telemedicine is well documented in radiology, cardiology, psychiatry and dermatology. It is used across the nation and the world to bring specialty care to communities that may not otherwise have these resources.

"Telemedicine improves access to services," said Children's Hospital Chief Medical Officer Michael Gutzeit, MD, a leader of the initiative. "An ultimate goal would be to provide the highest level of care needed by the patient regardless of geographic barriers."

Children's Specialty Group and Children's Hospital also are piloting this method of delivering care in other specialty clinics in Neenah and Kenosha.

In the Fox Valley, a telemedicine clinic already is available for the Gastroenterology Clinic's Feeding Program and Genetics Clinic, and may soon expand to include Behavioral Health. In Kenosha, testing has been conducted for the Genetics Clinic and the Gastroenterology Clinic's Feeding Program.

To schedule an appointment for a Dermatology telemedicine consultation,
call (920) 969-7970.