Video Consultations in a Paediatric Dermatology Clinic: A Quality Improvement Project Evaluating Patient and Clinician Experience

ABSTRACT

Adapting the delivery of dermatology care to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the introduction of remote methods of healthcare delivery. Video consultation (VC) is a method of making dermatology accessible remotely whilst minimising the risk of infection transmission. Understanding the current and future role of VC in the delivery of dermatology paediatric consultations is of crucial importance to optimise the delivery of safe and efficient care. We performed a quality improvement project to evaluate patient and clinician experience of VC in a UK paediatric dermatology secondary care outpatient setting from June 2020 to September 2020. Prospective online surveys for patients and clinicians were designed and integrated into the video platform to automatically initiate at the end of each VC. 46 responses were collected 55% of consultations were first attend, 45% follow-up, 59% for a rash and 22% for monitoring of birthmarks. The main findings were that 91% of parents had a 'very positive or 'positive' overall experience of VC and 94% would choose VC over a telephone consultation during the current pandemic. A common theme from free text responses from parents and clinicians were that subgroups of patients who would find hospital attendances difficult had greater satisfaction with VC (e.g. children with physical disabilities, parents who are carers for other family members). We demonstrate that VC is a patient-and clinician-friendly tool that can have a crucial short-and long-term role in the delivery of paediatric dermatology care in the outpatient setting.