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Nusrat Gaffoor Bholah

East Lancashire NHS Hospitals Trust, United Kingdom

Title: Outcomes of Virtual Dermatology Assessments, during the COVID-19 Pandemic, in a Primary Care Setting in the UK.

Biography

Biography: Nusrat Gaffoor Bholah

Abstract

AccuRx is a virtual consultation platform, used in over 7000 General Practices in the UK1. Due to a reduced need for face-to-face reviews, and in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, our practice has adopted accuRx for Dermatological assessments. We report its impact on the volume of subsequent face-to-face appointments and its ability reach to a definitive diagnosis. Searches were conducted on EMIS for patients aged 4 to 40 years, with clinical codes ‘eczema’/‘psoriasis’/‘rash’/‘skin’ between 01/11/19 to 31/01/20 for the Pre-COVID-19 group and between 01/11/20 to 31/01/21 for the COVID-19 group. 25 patients were randomly selected from each group. All pre-COVID-19 reviews were face-to-face. Those not using accuRx for their consultation were excluded from the COVID-19 group. 16%(4/25) of patients required a further face-to-face appointment within 3 months of initial presentation, for the same dermatological problem, in the pre-COVID-19 group, compared to 4%(1/25) in the COVID-19 group. A definitive diagnosis was reached at first assessment in 96%(24/25) of patients in the pre-COVID-19 group compared to 84%(21/25) in the COVID-19 group.

 AccuRx may reduce the number of face-to-face appointments which has clear advantages during a pandemic. However, this reduction may also be attributable to reduced availability of face-to-face appointments in Primary care and reluctance of vulnerable patients seeking healthcare interactions during this time. Moreover, consultations using this platform are less likely to result in a definitive Dermatological diagnosis, compared to face-to-face reviews. This may be related to the quality of images reviewed on the platform.