OBJECTIVES: Previous studies confirm that teledermatology (TD) allows the generation of a rapid response from the dermatologist's office, reduction of unnecessary travel, early diagnosis and priority in the care of the most urgent cases. Despite these advantages over conventional hospital monitoring (CM), the perception in relation to health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is unknown. The main objective of this study was to perform a comparative analysis of the HRQOL perceived by patients with dermatological problems.

METHODS: This was a randomized, controlled, unblinded, interlevel, multicenter (Primary Care (PC) + Hospital Universitario Poniente) clinical trial, with a 6-month follow-up. Patients were randomized to: TD (n = 225) versus MC (n = 225) groups. The Spanish version of the generic EuroQol-5D (EQ5D) questionnaire and the specific Skindex-29 questionnaire were administered to assess perceived HRQOL at 0 and 6 months.

RESULTS: It was observed that from month 0, patients included in the CM group presented significantly lower HRQoL values than users included in the TD group (Skindex-29 total: p≤0.00; EQ-5D VAS = p≤0.00; EQ-5D utilities = p≤0.00). At the end of the study period, patients included in the CM group still obtained significantly lower scores than those included in the TD group (Skindex-29 total: p≤0.00; EQ-5D VAS = p≤0.00; EQ-5D utilities = p≤0.00). Similarly, both groups show statistically significant improvements in all parameters evaluated (Skindex-29 total: TD = p≤0.00; EQ-5D VAS = p≤0.00; EQ-5D utilities = p≤0.00) compared to the data obtained in the baseline analysis.

CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained show that at the end of the study period, the self-perceived HRQoL of patients in both groups, is significantly higher than those shown in the baseline analysis. In addition, the HRQOL perceived by the patients included in the TD group is significantly higher than that of those included in the CM group.