Date of Presentation
5-5-2022 12:00 AM
College
School of Osteopathic Medicine
Poster Abstract
Hospitalists and emergency physicians continue to struggle with the assessment of dermatologic conditions, often consulting dermatology whenever a patient has a “rash” or skin concern. Dermatology is still not emphasized in medical education and often is taught to most medical students in an abbreviated fashion, which results in physicians feeling ill-equipped to deal with any dermatologic condition—either mundane or potentially life-threatening.
Better guidelines are needed for physicians in the ED and on inpatient units to guide them on appropriate use of dermatologic consultation outside the ambulatory office and the clinic. We constructed a consultation flowchart to help guide the triage of patients in need of dermatologic evaluation by inpatient teams and possibly to avoid unnecessary consultation fees. We believe that the flowchart can educate inpatient medical teams about appropriate dermatology consultation. Use of the flowchart also may decrease unnecessary consultations, which ultimately will lower health care spending overall.
Keywords
Quality of Health Care, Medical Education, Dermatology, Patient Care, Referral and Consultation
Disciplines
Dermatology | Diagnosis | Emergency Medicine | Health and Medical Administration | Medical Education | Medicine and Health Sciences | Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases
Document Type
Poster
Included in
Dermatology Commons, Diagnosis Commons, Emergency Medicine Commons, Health and Medical Administration Commons, Medical Education Commons, Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases Commons
When Are Inpatient and Emergency Dermatology Consultations Appropriate?
Hospitalists and emergency physicians continue to struggle with the assessment of dermatologic conditions, often consulting dermatology whenever a patient has a “rash” or skin concern. Dermatology is still not emphasized in medical education and often is taught to most medical students in an abbreviated fashion, which results in physicians feeling ill-equipped to deal with any dermatologic condition—either mundane or potentially life-threatening.
Better guidelines are needed for physicians in the ED and on inpatient units to guide them on appropriate use of dermatologic consultation outside the ambulatory office and the clinic. We constructed a consultation flowchart to help guide the triage of patients in need of dermatologic evaluation by inpatient teams and possibly to avoid unnecessary consultation fees. We believe that the flowchart can educate inpatient medical teams about appropriate dermatology consultation. Use of the flowchart also may decrease unnecessary consultations, which ultimately will lower health care spending overall.