TOPLINE:

Implementing a mobile app (DermLoop) with a removable dermatoscope for acquiring high‑quality photos of the skin enabled primary care providers (PCPs) to manage skin problems via online consultations (e-consults) and reduced the need for in‑person visits to dermatologists.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers introduced DermLoop in primary care to determine if it led to more e-consults with dermatologists and fewer referrals.
• DermLoop is a mobile device with a removable dermatoscope, and that lets PCPs take high-quality photos of the skin, record clinical details, and send those as e-consults to dermatologists.
• Implementation of DermLoop started in July 2024, and PCPs were trained across multiple sites in Connecticut. Most patients in the program were either uninsured or had Medicaid.
• The primary outcome was the proportion of referrals for concerns submitted as e-consults vs in-person visits to dermatologists in the 9 months before and after implementation.

TAKEAWAY:

• In the months after the implementation, 69 PCPs submitted 560 DermLoop e-consults for 526 patients. Overall, 88.9% of all PCPs received training.
• The proportion of dermatology referrals via e-consults increased significantly from 17.3% before implementation to 28.6% after (P < .001).
• Most e-consults (79.8%) allowed patients to avoid face-to-face visits with dermatologists through PCP management.
• Image quality improved significantly, with only 0.4% of DermLoop cases containing poor-quality images compared with 26% before the implementation.

IN PRACTICE:

“With access to dermatology care unlikely to improve in the near future, particularly for medically underserved populations, programs such as this provide an effective means to expand access to care and reduce inequality in healthcare,” the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Lauren Bifulco of Weitzman Institute in Middletown, Connecticut. It was published online on December 8, 2025, in Journal of Primary Care & Community Health.

LIMITATIONS:

The results may not apply to health systems new to the approach of e-consults. Researchers could not determine whether the experience, training, age, and practice setting of the PCPs influenced the findings.

DISCLOSURES:

This research did not receive any specific funding. Various authors reported serving as the president of Confirmed, the CEO of MelaTech, and a consultant for MelaTech.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.