Case study

Improving teledermatology with our SmartReferrals system

The One Gloucestershire Integrated Care System (ICS) includes Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Gloucester Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and all of the region’s 73 GP practices.

Background

A mission to transform teledermatology

The CCG procured digital cameras for all GP practices in the region in order to improve the triage of dermatology referrals, as 90% of 2-week wait referrals were sent through the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS) without any images attached. The issue was one of accessibility: cameras were often left in the consulting room where they had been used and weren’t easily available for a GP consulting in another room when they needed it.

GPs, nurses and mental health workers wanted to access specialist advice and guidance quickly and securely by taking photographs using their own smartphone. Dermatologists in the Trust wanted an advice and guidance platform that enabled them to work remotely and triage patient referrals to the right pathway faster.

A specialist looks at the photo of a skin lesion on his computer. He is sat in his office at his laptop.

A clinician takes a photo of a patient's arm using a dermatascope; the lesion on the phone's screen is zoomed in and clear.

Solution

Giving control back to the clinicians

The CCG commissioned Cinapsis to give GPs, nurses and mental health workers immediate access to specialist advice and guidance through their smartphone and web browser.

Photos are captured and shared securely using our Cinapsis SmartReferrals smartphone app and are automatically saved into the patient’s record in EMIS Web and SystmOne. Advice and guidance requests are completed quickly with everything being recorded into the patient’s notes automatically.

Impact

A system that truly improves patient care

Dermatologists in the Trust complete advice and guidance requests remotely using any device and do not require a smartcard.

Integration with the patient’s medical record allows skin conditions to be easily monitored over time by the dermatologist or GP.

Cases are completed much faster and more conveniently than before. This has significantly reduced response times, with GPs and nurses receiving an answer within minutes or hours rather than days.

25%

less time taken to complete cases on average

7 in 10

patient requests completed without needing a dermatology appointment

100%

of 2-week wait referrals undergo image triage prior to an appointment

Saw patient with suspicious skin lesion. Sent summary and three photos via app to dermatology team. Diagnosis and management back within one hour. Impressed.

Dr Mark Porter

GP and Anchor for BBC Radio 4's Inside Health

Cinapsis is a pleasure to use: it's all in one and laid out really simply. I find it much quicker and simpler than the process of Advice and Guidance we were using previously.

Dr Tom Millard

Consultant dermatologist at Gloucestershire royal hospital

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