Interactive tools boost skin self-exam outcomes

Interactive electronic tools improved patient performance of skin self-examinations, according to a study published online this week in the Archives of Dermatology. A computer-assisted learning tutorial and frequent telecommunications reminders to perform self-exams helped to boost patient confidence in the ability to identify melanoma, according to researchers.

"Patients often exhibit distinctive learning styles that may be restricted to visual, aural, reading/writing, kinesthetic styles, or a multimodal combination of these patterns," they wrote. "As such, each patient possesses a unique learning fingerprint that is most likely to be accessed through multiple and often diverse mechanisms." Study