Teledermatology practice in Nigeria: a review of our experience

Abstract

Background: The provision of teledermatology services will greatly improve access to skin care in Nigeria where there are few dermatologists. There is no established model for the practice of teledermatology in Nigeria. We established a teledermtology service (www.mydermatologyconsult.com.ng) in 2016 to mitigate this problem. We reviewed the activities on the site in the first two years.

Method: This was a retrospective review of the activities on the website from February 2016 to January 2018. The administrative end of the website was assessed and data from the patients were retrieved and analyzed.

Result: 683 persons visited the site during the period of review. 9 persons signed up and submitted their clinical history and photographs for review by the dermatologist. 7 out of the 9 were females while 2 were males. The mean age of the patients was 23 ± 4.5 years. All the patients complained of itching while 7 complained of rashes. Only 3 persons paid the consultation fee of ₦5000 ($11). Among those that registered, 2 persons were diagnosed of Urticaria while one person was diagnosed of atopic dermatitis.

Conclusion: There was a high interest in accessing a teledermatology site among Nigerians. However few persons were willing to sign-up and pay the registration fee for unclear reasons. Majority of the patients will eventually require face-to-face consultation because of the chronic nature of their disease. There is a need for a survey to determine the reasons for the few sign-ups.