Dermoscopy use in primary care: a qualitative study with general practitioners

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Primary Care
• Medical Education

Background:

• Skin assessments are a significant part of family physician consultations, with rising referrals to dermatology.
• Dermoscopy can improve the accuracy of skin lesion assessment and triage, including for skin cancers.
• Despite its benefits, dermoscopy use remains low among UK general practitioners (GPs).

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore factors influencing dermoscopy adoption and use among UK general practitioners.
• To understand the perceptions and barriers related to dermoscopy implementation in primary care settings.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative interview study was conducted with UK general practitioners.
• A purposive sample included established, recent, and non-dermoscopy users.
• Twelve semi-structured interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Main Results:

• Adequate training, prior dermatology experience, and peer support facilitate dermoscopy use.
• Dermoscopy positively impacts patient consultations; 'in-house' users are valued.
• Barriers include lack of training priority, perceived complexity, equipment costs, and ethical concerns regarding image sharing.

Conclusions:

• GPs acknowledge dermoscopy's importance in primary care skin assessments.
• Inadequate training is a key barrier to wider dermoscopy adoption.
• Developing competency standards for dermoscopy training is recommended.