The National Skin Centre (NSC) seeks to improve and advance the skin health of the population by setting the highest standard of excellence in dermatological care, education, and research. NSC’s continued efforts extend into the community through collaborations with social and community partners to deliver holistic care for all residents.
NURSE-LED SERVICE IN MANAGEMENT OF SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS
In February 2021, NSC implemented a nurse-led sexually transmitted infections (STI) screening service for asymptomatic patients at the Department of Sexually Transmitted Infections Control (DSC) Clinic. Under the new service, nurses have an expanded role, and attend to patients from their first visit to subsequent follow-up appointments. Patients with symptoms and more serious conditions are escalated to doctors for consultation. This enables patients to receive timely education on STI prevention, and doctors to focus on more complex cases. This has also allowed the DSC Clinic to free up more medical appointment slots, reduce waiting time and costs for patients, and in turn, have the capacity to see more patients. From January 2021 to June 2022, more than 1,900 patients were seen under this service.
NSC introduced confocal imaging as a clinical service to enhance skin cancer screening.
The multidisciplinary team at NSC’s Eczema Clinic.
INTRODUCTION OF CONFOCAL IMAGING AS A CLINICAL SERVICE
In November 2021, NSC introduced a quicker and less invasive diagnostic imaging alternative to skin biopsy for patients through the use of a Reflectance Confocal Microscopy (RCM) device, as part of an enhanced skin cancer screening programme. RCM allows the “in vivo” examination of the skin, down to the level of papillary dermis while providing a cellular resolution comparable with histology. This initiative was jointly developed by the RCM, Skin Cancer, Phototherapy, and Dermatologic Surgery teams.
TEAM-BASED CARE FOR PATIENTS WITH ECZEMA
In September 2021, NSC’s Eczema Clinic introduced a team-based care model to provide enhanced and coordinated care for patients. The multidisciplinary team comprises physicians, advanced practice nurses (APNs), nurse clinicians, clinical pharmacists, and medical social workers. During follow-up appointments for patients with moderate to severe eczema, APNs help identify issues and complications related to their treatment and disease.
CONTACT DERMATITIS DATABASE
NSC Pharmacy developed a first-of-its-kind Contact Dermatitis database containing the list of ingredients in its retail products. The prototype was soft-launched in August 2021, and houses the full product ingredient composition, with 900 retail products comprising 60 per cent of NSC’s retail product inventory to-date. With filtering functions for users to include and exclude specific ingredients, the cloud-based platform assists healthcare professionals in selecting suitable retail products for patients with allergic and irritant contact dermatitis.