Taneesa Williamson Aiding relief to the regional dermatology shortage for over 200,000+ regional patients with this unique dermatology model.
Access to Australian dermatology services can be limited in regional areas due to a shortage of dermatologists and clinics, this can result in longer wait times for appointments, difficulty accessing specialist care, and a lack of preventative and early intervention measures. Without adequate access to dermatology services, individuals in regional areas may be at a higher risk of developing and worsening skin conditions, as well as missing potential diagnosis of the conditions as a starting point. Efforts to improve dermatology accessibility in regional areas, such as telehealth and outreach programs, have been identified as crucial in addressing this shortage and ensuring equitable access to healthcare services.
For leading Dermatologist Dr Shobhan Manoharan and his wife Dr Patricia Manoharan, this was a significant gap in the healthcare sector, and as of early 2023, they have expanded their line of speciality dermatology practices (named Eczema, Psoriasis and Vitiligo Clinics) to regional Victoria, based in the regional yet largely populated town of Geelong.
SPA+CLINIC caught up with Dr Shobhan to discuss their decision process in opening in a rural location, and how their approach can increase accessibility to dermatologists for patients.
What led you to opening your specialty practices (Eczema, Psoriasis & Vitiligo Clinics)?
My wife, Patricia, and I have always had a passion for rural and regional health provision, and have understood the significant challenges that individuals in those communities face in obtaining high-quality, rapid access health services.
Over the years, I have spent time as a dermatologist in Mt Isa and other regional areas in Australia and the UK, and have also been one of the pioneers of Teledermatology in Australia, to provide healthcare to those unable to physically get to a dermatologist for a consult or treatment.
Eczema and Psoriasis are 2 of the most common skin conditions, affecting 2-20% of the population. Vitiligo is a passion for me and I wanted patients to be able to access our expertise rapidly.
So, Eczema/Psoriasis/Vitiligo Clinics Australia, were set up with the intention of enabling patients in both metropolitan and particularly regional centres to have rapid access to dermatology specialist services for these particular conditions which require timely intervention and often regular follow ups and treatments.
Share with us in what led to your decision in opening a practice in Regional Victoria. Did you find a significant gap in the accessibility for patients in these regional areas which helped you towards this decision?
There are only about 600 dermatologists in Australia, and only 10% base their practices outside of major metropolitan centres.
Regional Victoria, like many other regional areas, is completely underserviced from a dermatology point of view.
There are about 3 dermatologists that service the population of over 200 000 in Geelong, and with one of the most established dermatologists retiring before Christmas, waiting times in town have blown up to 12 months.
Therefore, after piloting our first clinic in Paramatta, NSW, last year to optimise the model of a rapid access, hybrid Telehealth dermatology practice, we decided that the time was perfect to broaden our service to regional Victoria.
Share with us the booking processes, and if there are any special considerations made to make appointments more rapidly available?
We believe we have an outstanding hybrid model for rapid access dermatology. Patients can be reviewed within days, close to home, by our on-site clinical team of nurses and dermal therapists, who have all been trained to a high level by our dermatologists.
They then provide patient education, information and also collate a report and photographs that are then sent through to our dermatologists, who may be based in various parts of the country.
Based on their findings, our dermatologists will then be able to create a tailored treatment plan, send e-scripts to patients and organise treatments, referrals or follow-ups.
All our sites also provide Ultraviolet UVB phototherapy, on a protocol that I have developed over a decade, which is an ideal second line treatment for all three conditions under our banner. Phototherapy is bulkbilled at our clinics if you have medicare.
We sincerely believe this is an excellent model of dermatology service provision in a speciality that is significantly under supplied, especially in rural and regional Australia.
Our delightful team will be ever present to help with concerns on site, and we look forward to being able to grow with our communities to provide high quality dermatology care for all Australians.
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