{"title":"Skin cancer management: Making the most of your pathologist.","authors":"Simon P Clark, Olivia MM Clark, Cliff O Rosendahl","doi":"10.31128/AJGP-03-24-7190","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer globally. Early detection and treatment of skin cancer is critical for positive patient outcomes. General practitioners (GPs) play a central role in skin cancer management in Australia.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>Collaboration between GPs and pathologists can improve the accuracy of skin cancer diagnosis. However, for improvement to occur, clear communication and high-quality specimens are essential.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Inadequate clinical information and suboptimal biopsy specimens can hinder diagnosis. Improved communication, targeted training and selecting appropriate biopsy techniques are essential. A collaborative approach, guided by recommended techniques and clear guidelines, can minimise errors and improve patient outcomes in Australia's GP-led skin cancer management system.</p>","PeriodicalId":54241,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of General Practice","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Australian Journal of General Practice","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.31128/AJGP-03-24-7190","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer globally. Early detection and treatment of skin cancer is critical for positive patient outcomes. General practitioners (GPs) play a central role in skin cancer management in Australia.
Objective: Collaboration between GPs and pathologists can improve the accuracy of skin cancer diagnosis. However, for improvement to occur, clear communication and high-quality specimens are essential.
Discussion: Inadequate clinical information and suboptimal biopsy specimens can hinder diagnosis. Improved communication, targeted training and selecting appropriate biopsy techniques are essential. A collaborative approach, guided by recommended techniques and clear guidelines, can minimise errors and improve patient outcomes in Australia's GP-led skin cancer management system.
期刊介绍:
The Australian Journal of General Practice (AJGP) aims to provide relevant, evidence-based, clearly articulated information to Australian general practitioners (GPs) to assist them in providing the highest quality patient care, applicable to the varied geographic and social contexts in which GPs work and to all GP roles as clinician, researcher, educator, practice team member and opinion leader. All articles are subject to peer review before they are accepted for publication.