Sending a photo of a skin problem is increasingly common in NHS care. The bigger challenge is finding the clinical time to review it.
In 2006, skin conditions were the most common new reason people visited a GP in England and Wales. A study of general practice data covering 950,000 people found that 24% of the population consulted a GP about a skin problem that year. New episodes of skin disease were more common than those in any other major disease group.
Most of this care appears to remain within general practice. A study of 318 video-recorded GP consultations with UK adults found that 45 (14.2%) involved at least one skin problem. Of the 51 skin problems discussed, 43 (84.3%) were not referred to specialist care.
Photos now play a part in skin care, appearing in online GP consultations, pharmacy services and specialist dermatology pathways. However, while taking and sending photos has become easier, finding the clinical time to review them remains a challenge. This article explores how skin photos move through UK healthcare, from GP online consultations to NHS teledermatology. It also explains why the real challenge is no longer taking the photo, but finding the time to assess it.
Where skin photos now travel NHS England recommends image-supported advice and guidance as the “front door” to dermatology services, including for people with rashes. Urgent suspected skin cancer referrals are an exception.
The process differs depending on the service.
Route Who takes the image Who looks at it Source GP online consultation The patient, who can upload photos where appropriate A clinician at the practice Care Quality Commission Pharmacy First by video The patient, on a good quality video call; the clinical pathways can’t be done by telephone A pharmacist at the pharmacy Community Pharmacy England Specialist advice and guidance A trained healthcare professional, or the patient where this is agreed locally A specialist, who gives advice or converts the request to a referral NHS England Urgent suspected skin cancer referral A trained healthcare professional, with dermoscopic images; patients’ own images are not yet suitable A specialist NHS England
Every route ends the same way: someone with clinical training has to review the image. These routes are also expanding. Since 1 October 2025, GP practices in England have been required to keep their online consultation tools available throughout core hours. From autumn 2026, Pharmacy First is also adding prescribing pathways that include acne and mild skin and soft tissue infections, starting in a small number of pharmacies.
As more services use digital consultations, more skin images are likely to enter healthcare systems. This makes the process of collecting and reviewing them increasingly important.
Every photo still needs clinical time teledermatology roadmap warns: “Creating teledermatology activity will inevitably take clinicians away from other clinical activity; this needs to be recognised and managed appropriately.” It also says healthcare services must consider this when planning their capacity. Although teledermatology can help reduce the overall time needed for care, it must be managed carefully to achieve this.
The demand is already substantial. According to NHS England’s roadmap , England recorded about 3 million dermatology outpatient appointments in the year to April 2022. Dermatology services also receive more urgent suspected cancer referrals than any other specialty, and about half of the one million dermatology referrals received each year are urgent suspected skin cancer referrals.
Demand is also growing faster than the population. Two analyses of public data covering 2005 to 2025 were published as conference abstracts in the British Journal of Dermatology in 2026. The first analysis showed that population growth alone could not explain the increase in dermatology workload in England (abstract P091 ). The second analysis reported that consultant dermatologist numbers had increased gradually, but more slowly than service demand (abstract P090 ).
These findings point to a growing gap between the demand for dermatology services and the clinical capacity available to meet it.
What NHS teledermatology guidance asks of a photo
Image quality is also important. NHS England notes that patient-taken photos can vary in quality. Therefore, local services must decide when they are suitable for clinical assessment. For urgent suspected skin cancer cases, patient photos are not yet suitable when dermoscopic images are required. This would require reliable image quality and suitable dermoscopic devices for patients.
Clear images can also reduce the need for repeat consultations. When an image does not provide enough information, a patient may need a face-to-face appointment after an initial teledermatology assessment. Providing better quality images from the start can help avoid this unnecessary duplication.
The same principle applies to software. Image quality affects what dermatology software can interpret from a skin photo. A useful digital service should therefore help users provide clear images and the information needed to understand them.
What patients experience after uploading a skin photo
For patients, taking a photo is only one part of the experience. They must also wait for someone to review it and explain what happens next. Skin photos submitted through digital consultations often remain unstructured until a clinician reviews them. The person who took the photo may receive little immediate feedback.
This creates an opportunity for digital health services. Rather than treating photo upload as the end of the initial process, they can make it a more useful first step. They can guide users towards taking clear photos, collect relevant information and provide initial feedback while users decide what to do next.
The challenge is finding a way to offer this experience without building an entirely new dermatology feature from scratch. This is where a dermatology API can fit into an existing digital service.
Where a dermatology API fits
For users, this provides immediate information instead of leaving the photo as the only output of the initial interaction. For digital health providers, it offers a way to add a dermatology feature while keeping the wider user journey under their control.
The suggestions are informational, not a replacement for a clinical assessment. The service decides what happens next, whether that means providing self-care information, offering relevant products or directing users to its own services. Autoderm provides the dermatology layer, while the provider manages the experience around it.
Online pharmacy, virtual primary care and teledermatology services, as well as consumer health and skincare apps, can all add this layer. Autoderm’s dermatology API solutions page shows how, and the clinical evidence page covers the research behind it.
Questions for digital health teams
Where do people with skin concerns begin in your app or website, and what do they see first? Do you explain how to take a useful photo before they upload it? Do you collect relevant information alongside the image? What happens to a photo after upload, and when does the user receive a response? What next steps can your service offer for skin concerns? What data protection and technical requirements must a skin feature meet? This dermatology API integration checklist covers image quality, response time and data residency. These questions can help teams identify gaps in the patient journey and decide where digital tools could improve the experience.
What this means for digital health services
For digital health services, the opportunity begins when the photo is taken. Helping people provide clear images, collecting the right information and offering useful initial feedback can improve the first stage of the journey. A better photo, the right context, and something useful for the person who took it. Integrating a dermatology API such as Autoderm is one way to add this capability while allowing the service to manage what happens next.
References Schofield JK, Fleming D, Grindlay D, Williams H. Skin conditions are the commonest new reason people present to general practitioners in England and Wales . British Journal of Dermatology, 2011. Le Roux E, Edwards PJ, Sanderson E, Barnes RK, Ridd MJ. The content and conduct of GP consultations for dermatology problems: a cross-sectional study . British Journal of General Practice, 2020. NHS England. A teledermatology roadmap: implementing safe and effective teledermatology triage pathways and processes . 26 October 2023. Care Quality Commission. GP mythbuster 100: Online and video consultations and receiving, storing and handling intimate images . Updated 23 December 2022. Community Pharmacy England. Pharmacy First service . Updated 13 October 2026. NHS England. Online consultations: frequently asked questions and support resources . Publication reference PRN02182. NHS England. Patients to get quicker treatment for migraines, acne and 3 other everyday conditions at pharmacies . September 2026. Sarfraz R, Ammar O, Sarfraz S. P091 Has dermatology service demand outpaced population growth? A population-adjusted national analysis of dermatology activity in England (2005-2025) . British Journal of Dermatology, 2026; 195 (Supplement 1). Conference abstract. Sarfraz R, Ammar O, Sarfraz S. P090 Are we training enough dermatologists? A longitudinal analysis of UK dermatology training output relative to service demand . British Journal of Dermatology, 2026; 195 (Supplement 1). Conference abstract. 
