Teledermatology for skin cancer referral and triage would add to the costs of care but would result in more rapid clinical resolution—at least in Australia. Findings from a study, published in JAMA Dermatology, show that the average additional cost per case was $55, but cases were resolved 26 days sooner.

To assess the cost-effectiveness of teledermoscopy as a referral mechanism for skin cancer diagnosis and management in Australia, researchers undertook a Cost-effectiveness analysis using a decision-analytic model of Australian primary care, informed by publicly available data.

They compared the costs of teledermoscopy referral (electronic referral containing digital dermoscopic images) vs usual care (a written referral letter) for specialist dermatologist review of a suspected skin cancer.

Findings from the decision-analytic model showed that the mean time to clinical resolution was 9 days (range, 1-50 days) with teledermoscopy referral compared with 35 days (range, 0-138 days) with usual care alone (difference, 26 days; 95% credible interval [CrI], 13-38 days).