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Exploring What Constitutes a High-Quality Referral For a Cutaneous Complaint: A Scoping Review of Referral Components
Kristina Nazzicone1, Bethany Wilken2, Abdul Kareem Pullattayil3
1School of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Clinical and Experimental Dermatology
|March 12, 2026
Summary
High-quality skin referrals require specific patient and clinical details. Standardizing these components improves communication and patient care efficiency.
Area of Science:
- Dermatology
- Medical Communication
- Health Informatics
Background:
- Referrals are crucial for patient information transfer between primary care and specialists.
- No current guidelines exist for optimal cutaneous referral components.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and synthesize evidence-based components for high-quality cutaneous referrals.
- To address the gap in standardized referral practices for skin conditions.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a scoping review following PRISMA-ScR and Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines.
- Screened Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and CADTH Grey Matters databases.
- Synthesized data from 47 sources published between 1964 and 2023.
Main Results:
- Recommended components include referral, referring clinician, patient, and detailed clinical information.
- Clinical details should characterize lesions (location, size, duration, evolution) and use ABCDE criteria for melanoma.
- Inclusion of referring clinician's impression, suspicion of malignancy, and lesion photography is beneficial.
Conclusions:
- This review provides a comprehensive list for high-quality cutaneous referrals, enhancing medical communication.
- Standardizing referral components can improve efficiency, accuracy, and patient care through better triage.
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