Dermatology referrals are valuable

The practice of dermatology remains to be one that mainly deals with outpatients, but the role dermatologic consultations also play in the care of inpatients should not be undermined. A few studies examined the significance of dermatologic consultations/referrals.

Methods

25 cases, randomly chosen from recent referrals to the dermatology service at King Fahd Hospital of the University, a tertiary health facility, were studied to determine whether the referral was necessary.

Results

The primary reasons for referral were for reevaluation of diagnosis and therapy (44%), therapy (52%) and diagnosis only in 4% (Table 2). Most frequent requesting services were primary care (32%), general practitioners (28%) and nonspecialist dermatologists (25%). The details of the 25 cases are discussed. The differences between dermatologists vs. non-dermatologists, non-specialists in the evaluation of the individual cases are discussed (Table 1). In 88% of cases, additional testing and tissue confirmation were needed in the evaluation and confirmation of the referrals (Table 3).

Conclusion

Complicated cases and those not responding to therapies given by non-dermatologist practitioners or non-specialists need to have access to tertiary care specialists. Such referrals are of value; however our findings are not informative about quality of care of patients who were not referred.