The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is expanding its partnership with diagnostic clinical decision support tool VisualDx to improve diagnostic accuracy in skin-related conditions. The one-year license agreement license will give clinical staff in more than 1,200 of the VA’s healthcare facilities nationwide access to VisualDx’s add-on feature, DermExpert
DermExpert AI Overview
Today, more than 65 percent of skin complaints are seen by non-dermatologists, and 15 percent of all primary care visits include skin-related issues. DermExpert helps emergency medicine, urgent care, and primary care professionals make smarter, faster and more accurate diagnoses.
DermExpert, which utilizes VisualDx’s extensive image library and Apple’s CoreML (machine learning) technology, allows a clinician to simply take a photo of a patient’s skin to have the image analyzed within the app by a form of artificial intelligence (AI). The DermExpert AI automatically recognizes features seen on the skin which is critical to better recognizing and diagnosing disorders presenting with skin lesions or rashes. The VisualDx app reveals diagnostic possibilities and displays these diagnoses linked to more images and information. Because VisualDx plus DermExpert utilizes Apple’s CoreML, the patient’s photo is analyzed on the phone and is not saved, making the application HIPAA compliant.
“DermExpert can assist providers as they diagnose patients presenting with a skin condition, potentially avoiding the need for a costly or time-consuming dermatologist referral and supporting improved experiences for both patients and their family members,” said Dr. Neil Evans, VA internist and a clinical leader of VA’s mobile health program. VA clinicians will be trained to use the image analysis feature over the next month and will begin using it with patients immediately.
Benefits of the VA’s Expanded Partnership with VisualDx
The VA has licensed VisualDx since 2010, and the add-on of DermExpert makes the VA one of the first major health systems in the U.S. to license this new feature offering. “Non-dermatologist physicians receive approximately 19 hours of dermatology training during medical school,” said Dr. Art Papier, practicing dermatologist and CEO of VisualDx. “As technology becomes more advanced, clinical decision support tools are equipping non-specialist physicians with the data they need to make more accurate diagnoses or get second opinions with the click of a button. Not only are tools like VisualDx and DermExpert improving diagnostic accuracy, but they are also easing the minds of patients across the country
