AIP Derm application improves accessibility to diagnosis of skin problems
The average number of visits to a doctor's clinic per inhabitant of Slovakia is above average compared to other countries. At the same time, the availability of ambulatory health care is gradually decreasing, and for this reason, an increasing number of telemedicine solutions are coming to the market with the aim of making the provision of health care more efficient, saving the time of the patient and the medical staff, and potentially increasing the quality of the provided health care with the use of artificial intelligence. Zdravotná poisťovňa Dôvera has implemented several telemedicine solutions in recent years. One of them is remote examination, diagnosis and treatment of skin diseases using an application using artificial intelligence - AIP Derm. Since its introduction in May 2023, 12,000 of our insured have used this form of health care, while in more than two-thirds of cases it was possible to help patients without the need for a physical visit to the clinic.
In Slovakia, the average patient has 11 outpatient visits a year, the most in the EU, while it is becoming increasingly difficult to access dermatologists. Prevention is lagging and cases of skin cancers are increasing. The health insurer Dôvera has therefore deployed online skin examinations with AIP Derm – a solution that combines artificial intelligence and a dermatologist’s assessment and shortens the wait for a result to approximately 22 hours. Slovakia tops the ranking for outpatient visits: an average of 11 per year per patient, while the European average is 7,5; however, 12 % of policyholders did not see a doctor at all, so among those who do, the average is as high as 12,6. Patients here visit specialists (5,7 visits) more often than general practitioners (4,9), the opposite of the trend in countries with strong primary care. In dermatovenerology, approximately 7 % of clinics have closed over 7 years (down by 23), doctors are aging (average age 56) and some are moving into aesthetic medicine. Only about a third of policyholders underwent regular skin checks over five years, and even after adjusting for growth in the insured population, an increase in melanoma is evident; it often takes months to get an appointment.Overburdened system and fewer dermatology clinics
