Global teledermatology

Telemedicine is the delivery of health care services between two remote locations through information and communication technologies to improve a patient’s health condition. It is a tool to increase access to quality care services for patients in both developing and developed countries in any situation in which there is a barrier to receiving treatment [1]. There are generally two methods of telemedicine delivery: store-and-forward and live-interactive. The store-and-forward modality involves the transfer of digital images with relevant patient information through email or a web-based platform to a specialist in a remote location for consultation. In liveinteractive telemedicine, the patient and/or their healthcare provider meet with the consulting specialist and interact in real time through videoconferencing. Since its inception about 40 years ago in US hospitals, telemedicine services have expanded across the world and now include many different specialties [2,3].