The development of eDerm was spurred by two major health trends: An alarming increase in the incidence of skin cancer in the general population, and the increased reliance on primary care to detect early skin cancer.

These trends were coupled with persuasive data indicating that primary care physicians consistently demonstrate poor skill in evaluating skin lesions, including skin cancers. The gap between primary care physicians' responsibility for evaluating skin lesions and their ability, poses a potential danger to patients' health and contributes to increased health care costs.

Today, eDerm consists of a Web-based teaching site and companion software for a handheld (Palm).