As Medicare continues to implement changes to their procedures and billing item numbers, it is important for general practitioners to understand how these changes might impact daily work. For example, the removal of item number 30195 in November 2018 effected many doctors who used this number to treat solar keratosis with a diathermy device.

In this short video, National Skin Cancer Centres Chief Operating Officer Matt Woollard offers his recommendations for using the correct Medicare billing item numbers including understanding their differences between an excision and a biopsy, and holding the billing on excisional biopsies until the pathology report comes back.

Watch the full video here:

Learn more about skin cancer medicine in primary care at the next Skin Cancer Certificate Courses.

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Read more recent research.

A question I am always asked when I teach GPs to do a skin check is “how should we examine the scalp, and how important is this for skin cancer?”. This issue is, of course, how many skin cancers “hide” under hair, how do we examine the scalp under the hair, and how important is all this? Continue reading “[2 min read] Skin cancer checks on the scalp | Prof David Wilkinson” →

After upskilling in different fields as a general practitioner, such as skin cancer, there can be many noticeable changes in work when applying new acquired knowledge. Our presenters are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to hear about, and often see, how their course alumni have since used their learnings to improve patient outcomes and save lives.

In this short video, HealthCert Education and National Skin Cancer Centres Founder and Chief Executive Officer Paul Elmslie shares his two most memorable stories of course attendees – one of which had never diagnosed a melanoma previously, and another who went on to diagnose more than 80 skin cancers in a year.

Watch the full video here:

Learn more about skin cancer medicine in primary care at the next Skin Cancer Certificate Courses.

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Read more recent research.

In this week’s case discussion, we feature a case from Dr Terry Harvey, whose patient came in for a skin check.

Please review the clinical and dermoscopic images below. What is your evaluation and what would you do next?

Continue reading “Case discussion: How would you treat this patient? [9 November]” →

In another interesting case from Dr Terry Harvey, we feature a male patient who presented for a skin check.

Please review the clinical and dermoscopic images below. What is your evaluation and what would you do next?

Continue reading “Case discussion: How would you treat this patient? [2 November]” →

In this week’s case discussion from Dr Richard Try we present the following patient:

• 50 year-old female
• Concern over growing lesion on shoulder

Please review the clinical and dermoscopy images. How do you interpret these? What would you do next?

Please leave your comment today and check back on Wednesday when we upload the pathology report!

Continue reading “Case discussion: How would you treat this patient? [12 October]” →

In a busy general practice offering a new range of services often comes with several new associated factors, including booking and managing consultations. In this short video, Aesthetic Doctor Jenny Kimmins shares her advice on managing aesthetic and skin cancer consultations in a busy general practice; starting with having separate consulting times.

Continue reading “[4 min watch] Managing aesthetic and skin cancer work in a busy general practice” →

“As doctors we’re not meant to have favourite patients, are we? But we do. That’s reality.” In this short video, Dr Tony Dicker shares his most memorable patient as a skin cancer doctor; a 35-year-old lady pregnant with her first child who came in for a routine skin check, only to be diagnosed with melanoma.

Continue reading “[2 min watch] My most memorable patient: Dr Tony Dicker” →