Urgent referrals from primary care to dermatology for lesions suspicious for skin cancer: patterns, outcomes, and need for systems improvement.

Kyla Pagani; Danitza Lukac; Suzanne M. Olbricht; Mark D Aronson; James C Benneyan; Leonor Fernandez; Talya Salant; Gordon D Schiff; Umber Shafiq; Scot B Sternberg; Jean S McGee

Study

Urgent referrals from primary care to dermatology for lesions suspicious for skin cancer: patterns, outcomes, and need for systems improvement.

December 7, 2022

Pagani K, Lukac D, Olbricht SM, et al. Arch Dermatol Res. 2022;315(5):1397-1400.

View more articles from the same authors.

Delayed referrals from primary care providers to specialty care can lead to delayed diagnoses and patient harm. This retrospective analysis examined differences in timely versus delayed referrals for urgent skin cancer evaluations at one institution. Among 320 referrals occurring in 2018, 38% of evaluations occurred 31 days or more after the referral and nearly 11% of referrals were never completed. Delayed referrals were more common among patients who did not speak English and racial/ethnic minorities.

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See More About The Topic

Ambulatory Clinic or Office

Dermatology

Primary Care

Discontinuities, Gaps, and Hand-Off Problems

Epidemiology of Errors and Adverse Events

Urgent referrals from primary care to dermatology for lesions suspicious for skin cancer: patterns, outcomes, and need for systems improvement.

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