SVT Nyheter Skåne has previously reported on the introduction of teledermatoscopy - a skin cancer app, which makes it possible for specialists to assess skin changes in a patient at a distance.

The benefits of the app are above all that around 30 percent of cases can be dismissed directly.

- It is a benefit for the patient that it does not have to go to several care facilities, but it is also a great benefit for the care - that we can reduce the number of visits, says Åsa Ingvar, assistant chief physician at the dermatology clinic at Skåne University Hospital.

No indications of impaired patient safety

In the autumn of 2020, a pilot study of the app was conducted.

Before that, there were fears that it was not completely patient safe.

Mainly because of the human factor - that doctors would take bad pictures, make assessments based on bad pictures or simply make assessments based on lack of experience.

According to Åsa Ingvar, according to the study, there were no indications of deteriorating patient safety, but despite this there are some difficulties in assessing distress at a distance.

- That is why we have introduced a system where we assess everything by consensus.

At least initially, until everyone is used to making assessments in teledermatoscopy.

This means that all cases are assessed by two dermatologists, says Åsa Ingvar and continues:

- The human factor is always included, even when we make assessments at the reception, and we will never be able to remove it completely.

Supplement of 5.8 million

But in the autumn, the Health and Medical Care Board decided that the app would be rolled out in Scanian healthcare, and since the introduction will involve costs, it has now decided to postpone an additional SEK 5.8 million.

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In the clip, which is from the spring of 2020, Åsa Ingvar shows how the app works.

Photo: Andreas Irebring