COVID‐19 has forced a sea change in the practice of dermatology across the world in 2020. Some changes enforced upon us will continue in the long term after the current pandemic and consequent deployment of many dermatologists to internal medicine ends. While attention is currently focused upon managing the pandemic and its immediate impact of COVID‐19 upon dermatology departments,1 it would be instructive to consider the ways in which dermatology (and medicine more broadly) will change in the ‘POST‐CORONA’ era.
P ublic health will rightly be prioritized; in dermatology, this may include measures to reduce skin cancer as well as possible hand dermatitis from personal protective equipment. Ownership of health conditions will be forced to pass from physicians to patients, with greater emphasis on patient self‐education, monitoring and alerting. Staff wellbeing will have to be prioritized to boost morale and allow a sustainable workforce. Telephone (and video) consultations for many conditions will no longer be an aspiration, but the default. Conferences and other meetings will increasingly take place virtually.2 Outsourcing of work to both other healthcare professionals and artificial intelligence resources will occur owing to pressures on the already depleted medical workforce. Remote working within medicine will become an established and an accepted mode of working. Opportunists (with different motives) will exploit the disruption to conventional outpatient care and the explosion of technology. Neoplasms (at least in the short term) will be prioritized above inflammatory work, in part due to the backlog created by COVID‐19. Apps will be increasingly used by patients and medical professionals during the temporary pause in regular clinical activity,dermatologists will need to find a means of validating and working with these to make sure they conform to guidelines3, 4 and will help optimize health care.
This list of changes is not exhaustive but we believe is inevitable. During moments of reflection, perhaps while in enforced self‐isolation, dermatologists may wish to consider how these changes will feature and can be best managed for the benefit of our patients when the dark cloud of COVID‐19 begins to pass.
Contributor Information
F. R. Ali, Dermatological Surgery and Laser Unit St John's Institute of Dermatology Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust London UK Vernova Healthcare Community Interest Company Macclesfield Cheshire UK.
F. Al‐Niaimi, Dermatological Surgery and Laser Unit St John's Institute of Dermatology Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust London UK Aalborg University Hospital Aalborg Denmark.
References
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