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Acne management for GPs: From assessment to referral

4.9

Accredited (Credits: 1)
Free
43min
Audio: English

Synopsis

This course provides a practical, evidence-based overview of acne management in general practice, covering assessment, treatment selection, treatment response, and referral. It examines common reasons for apparent treatment failure, including inadequate treatment duration, poor adherence, treatment-related irritation, and prescribing pitfalls, while addressing acne severity, scarring, pigmentation, and psychosocial burden. Participants will review the use of topical, oral, and hormonal therapies, strategies to improve tolerability and adherence, appropriate antibiotic use, maintenance treatment, adult female acne, and indications for specialist referral. This course emphasizes a structured, patient-centered approach to optimizing acne management in primary care.

This activity is supported by an independent support grant from L’Oréal UK

Objectives

After completing this activity, participants should be better prepared to:

  • Assess acne severity, treatment history, scarring, pigmentation, and psychosocial impact to guide management decisions.
  • Recognise common causes of apparent treatment failure, including inadequate treatment duration, poor adherence, treatment-related irritation, and prescribing pitfalls.
  • Apply evidence-based topical, oral, and hormonal treatment strategies, including appropriate use of maintenance therapy and antibiotics.
  • Identify patients with severe disease, scarring, significant psychological burden, or inadequate treatment response who may require specialist referral.

Accreditation

This course is accredited with 1 ECMEC credit valid in 26 countries. To claim your credits take the evaluation (satisfaction survey and evaluation questionnaire). You have 3 attempts for the evaluation. You need to pass the evaluation with a sufficient score to validate the course. Your diploma is issued instantaneously and sent to your email.

See more information on the accreditation at: Accreditation

Duration

43min

Target audience

General practice, Dermatology

Authors

Dr. Sahar Alikhan

Dr. Sahar Alikhan is a GP with an Extended Role in Dermatology, with extensive experience across general practice and community dermatology. She is Primary Care Skin Cancer Pathway Lead at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Dermatology Service Lead at Novus Health in Wakefield. She also serves as a GPwER assessor for the British Association of Dermatologists and is a speaker for the Primary Care Dermatology Society. Her background also includes work as a Specialty Doctor at Barnsley Hospital and as a locum GP in Leeds.

Conflicts of interests statement:

The author has no potential conflicts of interest to report.

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FAQs

What you will learn

Before you begin

  • Pre-course assessment: please complete to help us personalise your learning experience

Trailer

  • Introduction

Assessing and treating acne

  • Assessing acne and treatment history
  • Choosing and optimising acne treatment

Reviewing and adapting treatment

  • Reviewing response and antibiotic use
  • Managing adult female acne

Escalation and referral

  • Recognising severe acne and referral needs
  • Practical treatment questions

Accreditation - Evaluation

  • Satisfaction survey
  • Multiple-choice test

Register now for free!

Over 100,000 doctors have already joined Xpeer — register now to find out why, and get instant access to this course and many more.

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