Log In or Register to view a pdf version

For multiple reprints Click Here

The Skin Advocate app, one of the latest dermatology apps to be relesed, streamlines patient advocacy groups in one location and provides physicians quick and simple access to a large network of organizations for patient support services.

Dr. Shadi Kourosh, a resident at UT Southwestern, pioneered the development of the app. The idea came to her after listening to discussions among friends in the Coalition of Skin Diseases (CSD). These individuals expressed “concerns that many dermatologists, particularly those in my generation — currently in residency or just entering practice — may not be aware of their [the patient advocacy groups] existence and/or the resources they offer patients,” Dr. Kourosh explains. “The purpose of the app is to connect dermatologists and their patients with patient advocacy groups in a simple and efficient way.”

The app serves a two-fold purpose — enabling physicians to share information with patients about advocacy groups more easily and providing patients with an increased amount of resources for dealing with a skin condition. It is also designed as a tool to improve the office visit and patient outcomes.

“The app was designed to streamline referrals to patient advocacy groups for providers who might already pull our their phones to access apps like Medscape or Epocrates, and who often do not have printed brochures about skin conditions or the corresponding support groups on hand,” Dr. Kourosh explains. “The app serves as an interactive, multipurpose brochure that can’t be lost and reminds providers to refer patients every time they look at their phones.”

The app features contact information for all of the patient advocacy groups in the CSD in the form of direct links, enabling the user to contact an advocacy group for a particular disease, according to Dr. Kourosh. The “Share” button allows users to send contact information for a group via e-mail; the message goes through the Society of Investigative Dermatology’s server, protecting the privacy of the sender’s e-mail address.

Dr. Kourosh designed a preliminary study “to determine whether the app has had an effect on the behavior of providers” with Dr. Paul Bergstresser, chair of the department of dermatology at UT Southwestern and professor in the department. The team has not finished analyzing the results, but the response so far “has been encouraging,” Dr. Kourosh reports.

The reviews of the Skin Advocate app in the App Store are limited, as the app is still relatively new, but the feedback there has also been positive.

According to one reviewer, the app is “a truly useful tool.” “Now I have another tool to help me help my patients,” this review reads. “They get instantly connected with the organizations that can help them learn more about their disease and find support and I feel confident I’m doing all that I can for them. I’m already using it every day.”

Another review says the app “makes referral easy.” “This is a great handy app to make referring patients to advocacy groups fast with something you already carry around in your pocket,” the review reads. “Love that the e-mail comes from the SID and not my personal account.”

The app can be downloaded on the iPhone or the iPad and iPod Touch for physicians who do not have an iPhone. Currently, the app is only compatible with the iPhone, but Dr. Kourosh is hopeful that this will change.

“We are hoping to develop analogs for other smartphones as well,” she says. “Hopefully, in demonstrating the efficacy of the iPhone app, there will be support for developing versions for other operating systems.”

The Skin Advocate app is free. To download it, visit the iPhone app store and search “dermatology” or “skin advocate.”