In many countries, patients with concerning skin lesions will first consult a primary care physician (PCP).,Dermoscopy has an evidence base supporting its use in primary care for skin cancer detection, but need for training has been cited as a key barrier to its use.,How PCPs train to use dermoscopy is unclear.,A scoping literature review was carried out to examine what is known from the published literature about PCP training in dermoscopy.,The methodological steps taken in this review followed those described by Arksey and O’Malley, as revised by Levac et al.,Four electronic databases were searched for evidence published up to June 2018.,Sixteen articles were identified for analysis, all published since 2000.,Ten training programs were identified all of which addressed dermoscopy of pigmented skin lesions, among other topics.,Ten articles reported on a range of outcomes measured after training and showed generally positive results in terms of improved diagnostic performance, although no meta-analysis was conducted.,However, it was unclear whether trained PCPs continued to use dermoscopy after training.,Observational questionnaire data revealed that many PCPs use dermoscopy in practice without any formal training.,The literature generally supports the use of dermoscopy by PCPs, but it is unclear whether current training leads to long-term change in PCPs’ use of dermoscopy in clinical practice.,Understanding this problem, as well as exploring PCPs’ training needs, is essential to develop training programs that will facilitate the uptake and use of dermoscopy in primary care.,The online version of this article (10.1007/s13187-019-01647-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Melanoma accounts for 90% of skin cancer mortality and typically presents in primary care, where it can be challenging to distinguish from benign lesions.,Dermoscopy is a tool for skin visualization that is routinely used for melanoma diagnosis in secondary care.,However, the role of dermoscopy in primary care remains unclear.,To determine views on, and use of, dermoscopy by dermatology‐interested general practitioners (GPs).,An online questionnaire was emailed to the UK Primary Care Dermatology Society members in February 2018, and responses collected over the following 4 weeks.,A total of 205 responses were analysed.,Most respondents were GPs (94%), aged over 50 (53%), had a postgraduate dermatological qualification (67%) and used dermoscopy regularly when reviewing pigmented skin lesions (97%).,Dermoscopy use was commoner amongst GPs who had worked longer in primary care and had experience of secondary care dermatology.,Most had undertaken training in dermoscopy (91%), although one‐fifth (20%) had not updated their training in over 5 years.,Most of those who had received only 1 day of face‐to‐face training reported feeling confident using a dermatoscope.,Few respondents (11%) reported access to teledermatology or teledermoscopy for urgent or routine referrals.,UK GPs with a special interest in dermatology are routinely using dermoscopy in the primary care setting.,More research is needed to establish optimal approaches to training and updating GP dermoscopy skills.,When dermoscopy has been shown to be safe, effective, acceptable and cost‐effective in this setting, more GPs may also be able to gain and maintain the skills to implement dermoscopy into routine primary care.,Technological advances, including incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms to guide GPs, could also contribute to widening use of dermoscopy among GPs.