Enhanced Worldwide Dermatology-Pathology Interaction via Facebook, Twitter, and Other Social Media Platforms

摘要

Dermatologists often use skin biopsy to arrive at a diagnosis; interpretation of such biopsies requires an expert pathologist/dermatopathologist. In many medical colleges across India, skin pathology is a neglected specialty and is not adequately taught to trainees in pathology. India has very few expert pathologists to deal with skin pathology, and those experts that are available are usually in large metropolitan areas. Dermatologists practicing in small cities or rural areas often struggle to find a pathologist with dermatopathology expertise to opine on a difficult skin biopsy. A dermatologist in such a setting often must send the skin biopsy bottle through postal or courier service to an expert pathologist/dermatopathologist in a larger city who will process the tissue and send the diagnosis back to the dermatologist through email or courier service. This method often requires 15 days for a dermatologist to acquire the report, and this may lead to delay in initiation of appropriate treatment especially for serious or urgent diagnoses. Furthermore, as many remote areas lack adequate courier and transportation services, the problem is compounded, and the dermatology consultant is often forced to provide empirical treatment without histologic confirmation of the diagnosis. A great portion of the rural Indian population is therefore lacking access to advanced medical care for complex or serious cutaneous disease, which is a significant public health problem.