AAD teledermatology program helps meet a need

Emily Baumrin, MD, helps increase access for patients through teledermatology.

Dr. Baumrin's story

While we do provide monthly in-person dermatologic care, the need for dermatologic consultation exceeds our in-person availability. We have met this need with the AAD teledermatology program. It has been wonderful to establish a relationship with the primary care physicians who care for these patients, educate them on common dermatologic conditions and treatments, and triage patients to in-person consultation when needed.

One example of a success is when we had a teledermatology consult for a young man with severe psoriasis. His rash and itch were so severe that he was not able to work. We walked the primary care physicians through initiating methotrexate from screening labs, to medication administration, to monitoring. The patient responded beautifully to treatment and was very happy. The primary care physicians learned how to prescribe methotrexate for psoriasis and have been able to do this for many other patients that we have consulted on.

The AAD’s teledermatology program has been an incredible platform to provide invaluable care to underserved populations and educate primary care physicians so that services can be sustainable to the community served in the future. The program is easy to use and can be done from a phone or computer! It makes it so easy for me to give of my time.