Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine and Pharmacy (TouroCOM) is a college of osteopathic medicine located in New York City. It is one of several campuses within the Touro College and University System, which is a private institution focusing on health sciences, law, business, education, and other fields. TouroCOM was established in 2007 and is committed to training osteopathic physicians and pharmacists who will provide quality healthcare to underserved communities.
The Challenge:
At Touro College, administrators are taking proactive steps to ensure that pharmacy students have the training and resources necessary to provide the best care for their patients. By empowering these future pharmacists with knowledge of skin conditions and drug reactions, they can offer more comprehensive services than ever before.
With many drugs now available over-the-counter rather than by prescription, patients are increasingly turning to their pharmacist as a primary source of healthcare advice – making it all the more important for them to be well informed in order to meet this growing demand.
The Solution:
Touro College began licensing VisualDx Plus DermExpert since 2016. DermExpert is a revolutionary take-a-picture app that uses AI to identify skin lesion morphology and guide clinicians towards better medical decision-making. This technology provides pharmacy students with access to images and information for hundreds of common and serious skin conditions, ranging in body location, severity, and presentation.
The vast collection of images featuring people with various skin pigmentations helps prepare pharmacy students so they can more equitably care for all patients confidently. With this technology at their fingertips, Touro College’s pharmacy program has become one step closer to providing its graduates the necessary skillset needed in today’s healthcare industry, which demands accuracy when it comes to diagnosing conditions that affect different types of patients from diverse backgrounds.
VisualDx Plus DermExpert not only assists pharmacists and students but also empowers them by giving them an edge when it comes time for clinical judgment calls during patient consultations or treatments plans as well as helping ensure accurate diagnoses are made quickly.
VisualDx is a really valuable tool, especially with DermExpert, because sometimes it is hard to describe what you’re looking at and seeing it in different skin types is extremely helpful.
—Rhonda Altonen, Director of Library Service, Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine and Pharmacy
Outcomes:
Using VisualDx Plus DermExpert in the pharmacy setting has revolutionized patient care. Pharmacists can now act as a bridge between the provider and the patient, improving outcomes and managing care. With VisualDx Plus DermExpert, pharmacists can identify skin conditions or drug reactions instantly which saves time and unnecessary visits for patients, resulting in improved satisfaction with their healthcare experience.
In addition to its use in pharmacies, medical students should be trained on using these tools during their studies so they become more confident professionals when they enter practice. By studying with VisualDx and DermExpert early on, Touro College students can appreciate not only the full spectrum of disease presentation but also how this technology allows them to better diagnose patients quickly without having to refer them out unnecessarily for further testing or evaluation. This ultimately leads to improved health outcomes while providing cost-effective solutions that benefit both providers and patients alike.
For our students that are going into pediatrics who are often seeing kids with a sore or painful lesion, taking a picture can be easier than touching that arm or leg during an exam. They can say ‘let’s take a picture—I’m not going to hurt you.’
—Rhonda Altonen, Director of Library Service, Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine and Pharmacy