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Project ECHO: Early Melanoma Diagnosis

Dr. Nelson uses a dermatoscope during exam

The Dermatology Telementoring for Early Melanoma Diagnosis (DERM:EMD) Program aims to increase dermatology resident diagnostic accuracy and self-efficacy for skin cancer through the Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) telementoring model. Early detection of skin cancers can be optimized through knowledge sharing and clinical skill development in dermoscopy, ultimately resulting in improved patient care and reduction in unnecessary healthcare expenditures.

Overview

Dermoscopy is a highly portable clinical tool that, in experienced hands, reduces the false positives and false negatives of melanoma detection. Diagnosing melanoma at its earliest stages significantly improves melanoma survival. Dermoscopic education is highly variable across U.S. academic dermatology institutions, and is a challenging skill set to acquire independently upon completion of residency training.

The DERM:EMD Program is supported by MD Anderson’s Moon Shots Program™. Led by Dr. Kelly Nelson, the program provides a structured dermoscopic curriculum paired with educational metrics. A leadership committee (Dr. Kelly Nelson, Dr. Stephanie Savory, and Dr. Janice Wilson) oversees the curriculum and educational metric formation and creates, peer-reviews, and delivers lectures.

The MD Anderson DERM:EMD program includes all academic dermatology programs within the state of Texas as well as interested programs within the United States and globally.

History

The DERM:EMD Program is funded by MD Anderson’s Moon Shots Program™. DERM:EMD launched in November 2017 with over 80 participants in attendance. Participants included advanced practice providers, dermatopathology fellows, medical students, attending faculty dermatologists and dermatopathologists, and dermatology residents from MD Anderson, UTMB, UT Houston, UT Southwestern, Baylor Scott &White (Dallas), Baylor (Houston), Texas Tech Lubbock, and the University of Missouri. The program has since expanded to all Texas dermatology residency programs for the 2019-2020 curriculum.

While dermatology residents are the current targeted educational population, there are expansion plans to offer the curriculum to primary care providers and practicing dermatologists.