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At the recent annual American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) conference in Washington, DC, our booth may have been shockingly hard to find (long story!) – but questions about teledermatology were everywhere.

Not only did dermatologists engage us with many stimulating teledermatology conversations, but so did many of the practice managers who attended the ADAM (Association of Dermatology Administrators & Managers) conference immediately preceding the AAD event.

Whether you attended those shows or not, take a look below at the most "frequently asked questions" we heard about teledermatology in general and about our DermatologistOnCall® platform. We'd be happy to talk in-depth about any of these areas, just contact our experts at sales@iagnosis.com to keep the conversation going:

Top 6 FAQs About Teledermatology We Heard at AAD 2016:

1. "How do I make money doing teledermatology?"

This is an excellent question, and one that's top of mind for dermatologists in particular. The answer is better than what they might expect. Revenue sources include:

• New patient acquisition: Teledermatology gives you the opportunity to treat new patients who are shopping around for a doctor – and especially for those patients seeking the shortest appointment wait time.
• Reimbursements: We'd be happy to talk to you about private pay and reimbursement cases we currently see with teledermatologists on our DermatologistOnCall® network.
• Patient retention: Patients seeking this convenience as it gains popularity will expect you to offer it – or you might lose them to another practice that does (or even to an alternate care facility).
• Focus office time on higher-margin procedures: Teledermatology allows you to move "easy" cases online to free up your appointment slots and exam rooms for procedures that yield higher reimbursements or payments to you.

2. "What do I need to make teledermatology work well for us?"

A very legitimate concern is how much additional resource expenditure (time, money, staff) is needed to get a proper teledermatology solution up and running. We'll share with you how a ready-made platform like DermatologistOnCall® can affect things such as:

• Time commitment: For both your office staff and dermatologists, what is the impact here? We can help you quickly assess this, based on our vast experience working with practices on our telederm platform.
• Learning curve: We'll show you how in only a short amount of time, you can be caring for patients online.
• Compliance: We can help you ensure your solution adheres to HIPAA and HITECH standards .
• Cost: We'll share real numbers on the cost to get going, ROI examples, and how to succeed in marketing your service.

3. "Do I treat new patients, current patients or both?"

We'll explain why the answer is "yes – both!" Teledermatology offers you the flexibility to treat both patient groups without cannibalizing your in-office patients.

4. "Who else is doing this?"

On our DermatologistOnCall® platform, we have over 170 providers in 34 states offering teledermatology, including many who "brand" our offering for their practice. And, we've got more joining every month.

5. "How do patients find out about this service?"

This occurs through a combined effort. We market the general DermatologistOnCall® service broadly to the states where we have providers. Our Customer Success team also provides you with a great marketing toolkit and ideas that you can use to promote your service in your specific market and to your existing patients too. Promotion is essential to success, and we can tell you how we'll help in this area – even if you don't have a dedicated marketing person at your practice.

6. "So…. can this help me get paid for the pictures people send to my phone and via email?"

Yes! Offering a teledermatology solution on DermatologistOnCall® will not only help you finally get paid for all of those pictures and questions family, friends, and even existing patients send, but it will also make sure you're in compliance!

We can also help you build a tailored "teledermatology business case" presentation, to help your practice better understand this growing and inevitable trend (just email us at sales@iagnosis.com to ask for this help).

We look forward to talking with you more about these top FAQs and any additional questions you might have that add to this list.