An Approach to Skin Conditions Assessment in a Family Medicine Residency Health Center - Abstract
Skin problems affect 20-33% of the population and are a growing reason patients seek treatment. A literature review suggests that while dermatologic
conditions can be effectively managed in the primary care setting, more than 68% of initial evaluations are referred to a dermatologist, increasing care
costs. In this study, we implemented a skin conditions assessment in annual physical examinations performed at our family medicine residency clinic to improve
our residents’ exposure to skin issues and to measure their confidence in diagnosing and treating skin disorders.
During this study, we collected data from all the annual physical visits from January to March 2022, searched for how often we performed a skin
examination, and compared this data with the months during the study implementation, April to June 2022. We found that during the months before the
implementation of the study, January to March 2022, there was an average percentage of 7.93% skin assessment in physical examination. Otherwise, from
April to June 2022, when the study was implemented, there was an average percentage of 25.47% skin assessments, with an increase of 17.54% from the
three months before the study.
This study showed an increase in the diagnosis of common skin conditions at our clinic after implementing a skin assessment in the annual physical
examinations. This study shows that incorporating skin assessments can be a potential tool during residency training to increase the exposition of future
primary care physicians regarding skin diseases and treatment and further improve the care PCPs provide to our community.