Dermoscopy Use in Primary Care: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Primary Care Medicine
• Medical Education

Background:

• New or changing skin lesions are often first assessed by general practitioners (GPs).
• Melanoma incidence has risen significantly, increasing the need for effective skin lesion assessment tools.
• Dermoscopy is an evidence-based tool for skin lesion evaluation, but its use by GPs is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping literature review on the current evidence of dermoscopy use in primary care.
• To identify patterns, barriers, and facilitators of dermoscopy adoption by general practitioners.

Main Methods:

• A scoping literature review methodology (Arksey and O'Malley, revised by Levac et al.) was employed.
• Searched four electronic databases for studies published up to January 2018 on dermoscopy in generalist primary care.
• Analyzed seven identified articles.

Main Results:

• Most studies were published after 2007 and used questionnaires.
• A small minority of GPs report using dermoscopy, with variations across jurisdictions (e.g., higher use in Australia).
• Dermoscopy is primarily used for pigmented lesions but not consistently; barriers include the need for training.

Conclusions:

• There is limited data on dermoscopy use among GPs, hindering cross-jurisdictional comparisons.
• Perceived barriers to dermoscopy use require further in-depth investigation, possibly using qualitative methods.
• Understanding training and other factors is crucial for increasing dermoscopy adoption in primary care.