Lilly - September 2016 - Case Study 12

As face-to-face appointments were restricted during the COVID-19 pandemic, tele-dermatology solutions became an invaluable tool to ensure dermatology patients continued to receive optimum care.

The MySkinSelfie mobile phone app for skin self-monitoring has been developed through collaboration between Lilly and the Newcastle Upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust. This patient-led approach required users to take high-quality images of skin using the app, which could then be viewed by clinicians using the MySkinSelfie web portal. The app was designed and built by Newcastle Hospital NHS Trust in collaboration with the OpenLab for human computer interaction, based at Newcastle University School of Computing Science.

In a recent study of urgent and non-urgent skin cancer referrals in Bristol and Newcastle, it was found that patient uptake of the MySkinSelfie app nearly doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic (51% compared to 26%). The app provided an effective alternative that reduced face-to-face visits during the COVID-19 pandemic, aiding remote consultations and diagnosis in both centres. The app reduced face-to-face appointments by 58% for basal cell carcinoma referrals compared to before the pandemic, and by 63% for two-week-wait skin cancer referrals during the pandemic. Phone applications and digital technology such as MySkinSelfie provide easily implementable cost-saving measures that keep patients out of hospital and free up clinical capacity.