Nantucket Dermatology Clinic

Summary:
The interactive teledermatology practice at Nantucket Cottage Hospital on Nantucket Island and the ambulatory clinics at Massachusetts General Hospital provide patients on Nantucket Island with access to Harvard-affiliated dermatologists via interactive video conferencing.

Program Overview:
Due to the low population on Nantucket Island, it isn’t economically feasible for Nantucket Hospital to keep a dermatologist on hand or set up clinical times during the week. Through the use of communication technologies, islanders are instead examined remotely by dermatologists. The clinic is held weekly for 2-3 hours, and digital imaging allows dermatologists to closely examine skin lesions while they converse with patients in real-time, viewing each other on monitors.

Through remote, web-based monitoring, patients can reduce clinical visits for chronic diseases such as psoriasis or for conditions that require long-term follow-up, such as melanoma. Another advantage to this type of service is that the cost of operating an interactive teledermatology practice in a remote region may be less than that of a conventional clinic in a nearby urban center in the northeastern United States region.

Dr. Joseph Kvedar consults with patients in Nantucket via interactive video conferencing.

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