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Dermatological services; patient profiling in a rural tertiary hospital
Author(s) -
Thomas Lauren,
Felmingham Claire,
Tilakaratne Dev
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
australasian journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.67
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 1440-0960
pISSN - 0004-8380
DOI - 10.1111/ajd.13548
Subject(s) - medicine , indigenous , attendance , demographics , family medicine , retrospective cohort study , epidemiology , ethnic group , outpatient clinic , cohort , pediatrics , public health , demography , surgery , nursing , ecology , sociology , anthropology , economics , biology , economic growth
Background/Objectives There is a paucity of research available regarding the epidemiology of patients attending dermatology outpatient services in Australia. Our objective was to analyse who was attending public dermatology outpatient clinics in a Northern Territory tertiary hospital, with a particular focus on Indigenous and rural patients. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study of patients who attended dermatology outpatient clinics between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2016. Outcome measures included patient demographics (age, gender, ethnicity and postcode) and referrer details. Results Over the 12 month study period, 923 appointments were scheduled for 500 patients. Of the appointments scheduled, 667 were attended. Twelve per cent of patients were Indigenous, and of the total appointment attendances, 10% were by Indigenous patients. Of the 923 appointments, 28% were not attended, with a higher non‐attendance rate for Indigenous patients at 36%. The majority of patients seen were adults, for both groups, but a larger proportion of Indigenous children were seen. Nine per cent of patients with a recorded address were from a remote region. Conclusion Dermatology outpatient services are likely under‐utilised by Indigenous, and remote patients. If we are to improve skin health in Australia, barriers such as limited access to dermatological services in remote regions must be addressed.