Proportion of Potentially Avoidable Referrals From Primary Care to Dermatologists for Cystic Lesions or Benign Neoplasms in Spain: Analysis of Data From the DIADERM Study. / Análisis de la proporción de derivaciones potencialmente evitables desde Atención Primaria a Dermatología por lesiones quísticas o tumorales benignas en España. Datos del estudio DIADERM.
Actas Dermosifiliogr (Engl Ed)
; 110(8): 659-665, 2019 Oct.
Article
en En, Es
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31153547
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:
Skin lesions are a common reason for consulting a primary care physician. Current legislation in Spain states that purely aesthetic skin problems that do not pose a health problem are not to be treated within the National Health Service. The aim of this study was to estimate the proportion of referrals from primary care physicians to dermatologists that were for cystic lesions or benign tumors and could potentially have been avoided. MATERIAL ANDMETHODS:
We consulted cases registered in the DIADERM study dataset, which is representative of dermatology practice in Spain, and collected the main diagnoses given on referring patients from primary care. A referral diagnosis was classified as potentially avoidable if it corresponded to one of the primary care discharge diagnoses listed in a consensus paper of the Andalusian section of the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (AEDV).RESULTS:
We collected 2171 main reasons for first-visit referrals to dermatologists; 686 of them (31.6%) were for cystic lesions or benign tumors and classified as potentially avoidable. In 478 cases (22%) the patients were discharged on the first visit. The most frequent diagnoses in such cases were seborrheic keratosis (9.3%) and melanocytic nevus (8.6%).CONCLUSIONS:
Nearly a third of referrals from primary care to a dermatologist were for cystic lesions and benign tumors and could have been avoided. A clearer understanding of our caseload can be useful for improving planning, training, and health care system management.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Asunto principal:
Atención Primaria de Salud
/
Derivación y Consulta
/
Enfermedades de la Piel
/
Dermatología
/
Mal Uso de los Servicios de Salud
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
Límite:
Humans
País/Región como asunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
/
Es
Revista:
Actas Dermosifiliogr (Engl Ed)
Año:
2019
Tipo del documento:
Article