First Appointment
You have been referred to the dermatology service by your general practitioner.
It is very important that you attend the appointment.
Please aim to arrive 10 minutes before the start of the appointment.
If you are late less than 10 min late, you will still be seen, but you may need to wait until there is a space in the clinic. If you are more than 10 minutes late, you may be asked to book another appointment.
Your appointment may be with our specialist Dermatologist (a doctor who treats skin diseases) OR with our Teledermatology photographer in our skin photography clinic.
Read our Skin Photography Clinic Patient Information below carefully.
If you are prescribed any medicines, please bring all your medicines along to the appointment – the doctor or nurse may need to see these. You are welcome to bring a family member or friend along to the appointment as well.
If you require a chaperone, please let our bookings team know in advance, as it may not be possible to organise a chaperone on the day. If you require an interpreter, it is very important that you let us know before the appointment – we will not be able to organise one on the day.
If you are attending your appointment by patient transport and your appointment is after 1pm you must contact us as soon as possible.
Although we do our best to run the clinics on time, unforeseen circumstances do mean that we may run late. If this happens, please bear with us, and we will do our best to keep you informed.
SKIN PHOTOGRAPHY CLINIC PATIENT INFORMATION
Information for patients and carers
What is a skin photography clinic?
A skin photography clinic is also called a teledermatology clinic. Teledermatology is a means of allowing a specialist Dermatologist (a doctor who treats skin diseases) to quickly diagnose and treat skin disorders, by using technology. Teledermatology involves using a camera to take high quality digital pictures of your skin or using a device called a “dermoscope” to scan smaller skin lesions. This has been found to be a fast and accurate means of getting skin disorders diagnosed.
You will not see a Dermatologist Doctor at the appointment or receive a prescription. You will see a trained Teledermatology photographer who will take photos of your skin condition/complaint and will ask you for a brief medical history. After this, these pictures are sent to a specialist dermatologist to review, usually within 2 working days. The dermatologist will then do one or more of the following:
1. Give a diagnosis to you and your GP
2. Give advice to you and your GP about how to treat your skin disorder. This can include suggestions for a prescription for your GP to write.
3. If it is necessary, send an appointment for you to see a specialist dermatologist in our community clinic face-to-face.
4. Book you in for minor surgery to either have a skin biopsy, or to have a lump or spot removed.
5. If you have a more complex condition that means that you need to receive care within a hospital, you will be referred to a hospital of your choice.
The Teledermatology service enables you to be seen more quickly than you would be seen at the Hospital (typically less than 3 weeks compared to about 3 months) – and at a place closer to your home. This enables you to get a diagnosis more quickly.
If at any point, if your condition is suspected to need urgent treatment in a hospital, you will be referred urgently (to be seen within two weeks) to a hospital. We will always contact you to let you know if this is the case, usually by telephone.
On the day of attendance:
- Please bring your all your medications with you.
- Wear loose clothing appropriate, as you will be asked to expose the affected area of skin to take photos.
- If you wish to bring a companion to the appointment, you may do so
- The appointment will take approximately 15 minutes
- Unfortunately, we will only be able to take pictures of the skin lesions that you were referred for. If you have other skin lesions not mentioned on your original referral, you will need to see your GP for an additional referral.
- The Teledermatology photographer will take between four and six pictures of your skin. These will be a mixture of distance photographs and close up photographs.
- During the photography, the photographer may stick a small sticky ruler next to the affected area of skin. It is important to advise the photographer if you have any allergies to plasters, or adhesives. The photographer may also draw on your skin using a special skin marker pen, and they will remove the marks afterwards.
- You may also have close-up pictures taken with a dermoscope. This may involve placing gel on your skin to enable these pictures to be taken.
After the appointment:
- The pictures will be stored on our secure and encrypted clinical system.
- The pictures will be reviewed by a specialist dermatologist, usually within two working days.
- If you need a prescription, we will send a request for this to your GP who will contact you when this is ready for collection.
What if I need to change, cancel or might be late for my appointment?
Please contact Community Outpatients Dermatology Service as soon as you can to explore if your appointment needs to be rearranged. It is important you let the service know to prevent your appointment being wasted leading to delays to other patients. If you do not wish to be seen within the teledermatology service, please contact us on the number above to discuss your options.
Confidentiality:
The records of your attendance at our clinics will only be seen by professionals involved in your treatment and care, namely clinicians within the teledermatology service, your GP, and any hospital specialists that we refer you on to. We may also use your records for training and audit within the service.
If we wish to use your identifiable records for any broader teaching or publication purposes, or for any other purpose, we will always seek your explicit consent before doing so.