University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust are working with Skin Analytics to provide a skin cancer community assessment service across Birmingham and Solihull.
Teledermatology involves a qualified professional clinical photographer taking a series of digital photographs of a patient’s skin lesion. The photographs are then sent to a dermatologist for remote assessment to see if the patient needs to come into hospital for further treatment.
The clinic is run in partnership with Skin Analytics, an external company who will support the assessment of your skin lesion using an artificial intelligence computer programme called DERM. DERM has been developed by Skin Analytics to recognise skin cancer and common harmless skin conditions using photographic images. DERM is a medical device that uses artificial intelligence to identify skin cancer. DERM will analyse a dermoscopic image of a skin lesion. Dermoscopic images are images taken with a dermatoscope, which magnifies the skin lesion and allows its inspection without skin surface light reflections.
Patients may be referred for an appointment via their GP or another route. Only lesion(s) that have been specified by a GP in the referral will be photographed during an appointment.
Patients will be contacted after their appointment, usually within 21 working days, to advise if they need to come into hospital for further treatment.
If you are concerned about any lesions or skin problems, please seek advice from your GP in the first instance.
Dermatology Primary Care Diagnostic Hub
The Teledermatology Department are also working with GP surgeries to help assess skin lesions. This means that you do not need a GP appointment in order to have your skin lesion assessed and can call your GP surgery to be referred directly to a diagnostic hub. This service is currently being run by a number of GP surgeries across Birmingham and Solihull. Please contact your GP to find out the best way for you to have your skin lesion assessed.
Last reviewed: 08 December 2023
