The pilot telemedicine project for malignant skin tumours that will initially develop in the District B territory has started.
A plan drawn up by Dr. Alessandro Greco that involves dermatological outpatient specialists and General Practitioners of the Primary Care Units for whom training is in progress to make them able to identify a suspected tumor lesion and send clinical and endoscopic images to the specialists of the Asl.
The phases of the project
It should be noted that screening does not replace the oncological dermatological examination that must instead be carried out, but serves to give priority to the demanding: Short, Deferrable, Scheduled.
After acquiring a single dermoscopic image of the suspected tumor lesion and a single photographic image of the anatomical site concerned, each MMG accesses the dedicated portal (www.telemedicina.aslfrosinone.it), enter the complete personal data of the new patient and then attach the two images acquired previously.
Within 48 hours, the dermatologist, having observed the annexes, will suggest through the application, the priority that the GP must indicate on the demanding first dermatological visit. The dermatologist will be responsible for recording the performance of dematerialised dermatological televisit.
In this way, waiting lists are lowered: in the case of injuries, for which a D or P priority code is suggested, the appointment must be booked by the patient through company CUP or ReCUP.
In the presence of a lesion with a high suspicion of cancer (priority code B), the dermatologist will also communicate the day and time of the appointment by means of a departmental agenda, which the GP will be able to transcribe in the challenging first dermatological visit.
Project benefits
- Real-time sharing of standardized high-definition dermoscopic images.
- Early diagnosis and optimisation of waiting times.
- Methodsof immediate patient care.
- Logistical and economic advantage for the NHS, for patients and their families.
- Specific training of the GMM and multidisciplinary integration.
The words of Dr. Alessandro Greco
Teledermoscopy screening in no way replaces specialist healthcare or epiluminescent dermoscopic examination of the patient, but integrates it to potentially improve the effectiveness, efficiency and appropriateness of the diagnostic-therapeutic pathway.
The in-person dermatological examination will be able to confirm the teledermoscopic suspicion and in this case, the specialist will be able to carry out, in a very short time, a diagnostic examination with digital epiluminescence microscopy with video recording. Cutaneous melanoma and especially non-melanoma skin cancers have an increasing incidence in recent years. Telemedicine can be used for early diagnosis by expanding access to health services.
