Skin presentations make up a large share of general practice, they are highly visual, and they are one of the areas where a GP most often wants a quick, reliable reference and a clear referral threshold. The good news is that UK primary care has genuinely excellent dermatology resources, and you do not need many of them. This guide covers the ones that earn a place, what each is best for, and how they fit together, from the first-line reference to the photo-based specialist advice routes. The skill of describing what you see is covered separately, and it pairs directly with these tools.
Key takeaways
- The Primary Care Dermatology Society website is the first-line UK reference for most skin problems.
- NICE CKS gives management summaries and, crucially, clear referral and urgent-referral thresholds.
- DermNet offers breadth and a large image library for less common conditions.
- Dermoscopy training materially improves pigmented-lesion assessment for interested GPs.
- Photo-based Advice and Guidance is now central, and its usefulness depends on your description and images.
PCDS: your first-line reference
The Primary Care Dermatology Society website is the resource most UK GPs should reach for first. Run by the leading UK primary care dermatology society, affiliated to the British Association of Dermatologists and with thousands of members, it is widely regarded as one of the best dermatology websites anywhere. It offers a comprehensive A to Z of conditions written for primary care, high-quality diagnostic images, clear treatment ladders, and, importantly, practical referral pathways that tell you when and how to refer. For the common presentations, eczema, psoriasis, acne, rosacea, fungal infections, hair loss, and the rest, it is usually all you need, and its images help you match what you are seeing to a diagnosis.
NICE CKS: management and referral thresholds
For management decisions and referral thresholds, NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries are the pragmatic primary-care companion to full NICE guidance. CKS gives you concise, evidence-based management for common skin conditions and, most valuably, sets out the referral criteria and the urgent, suspected-cancer thresholds that keep you safe. When the question is not "what is this" but "how do I manage it and when do I refer", CKS is the authoritative answer, and it is free to all NHS staff.
DermNet: breadth and images
For less common conditions, or when you want more depth and a wider image set, DermNet is the standout international resource. It is a comprehensive, well-organised dermatology library with an extensive image collection covering a vast range of conditions, and it is genuinely useful when a presentation falls outside the everyday and PCDS does not settle it. Think of PCDS as your primary-care-focused first stop and DermNet as your broader reference for the unusual.
Dermoscopy and skin cancer assessment
For assessing pigmented and suspicious lesions, dermoscopy is increasingly part of interested GPs' practice, and it materially improves accuracy when properly trained. If you assess skin lesions regularly, structured dermoscopy training and a systematic approach are worth the investment, and PCDS and the British Association of Dermatologists provide learning materials. Alongside this, know your local suspected skin cancer referral pathways cold: the urgent referral criteria for suspected melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma are where the safety-netting matters most, and CKS and local guidance set them out.
Teledermatology and photo Advice and Guidance
Photo-based Advice and Guidance is now central to how skin problems are managed in the NHS, with services such as Consultant Connect and Cinapsis, and local teledermatology pathways, letting you send images and a question to a specialist through a governed route. The critical point is that the quality of the answer depends entirely on the quality of your images and description: a clear overview and close-up, in natural light and in focus, with a structured morphological description and a specific question, gets you a fast, confident answer, while a blurry photo and "please advise" does not. This is where describing skin well pays off directly, and we cover exactly how in how to describe a rash like a dermatologist.
Putting the stack together
In practice, the workflow is simple. For a common presentation, start with PCDS for diagnosis and treatment, and check CKS for the referral threshold. For something unusual, add DermNet. For a lesion you are unsure about, apply dermoscopy if trained and know your urgent referral criteria. And when you need specialist input, use photo-based Advice and Guidance with good images and a precise description. Four or five resources, used well, cover almost everything primary care dermatology asks of you.
Where iatroX fits
iatroX complements these resources as a reasoning and learning layer rather than a dermatology atlas. When you want to work through a skin presentation systematically, or build the pattern recognition and differentials that make the atlases more useful, its Socratic tutor and adaptive questions help, and Ask iatroX gives guideline-grounded answers with the source attached for the management questions. You can try it with free sample questions at iatroX. For the communities and wider tools GPs use, see the best online communities and resources for UK doctors.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best dermatology resource for UK GPs? The Primary Care Dermatology Society website is the best first-line reference for most skin problems, with primary-care-focused guidance, diagnostic images, treatment ladders and referral pathways. Add NICE CKS for management and referral thresholds.
Where do I find referral thresholds for skin conditions? NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries set out management and referral criteria, including the urgent, suspected-cancer thresholds for melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Confirm against your local pathways, which may add detail.
Is DermNet reliable for GPs? Yes. DermNet is a comprehensive international dermatology library with a large image collection, useful especially for less common conditions or when you want more depth than a primary-care-focused resource provides.
How do I get the most from teledermatology or Advice and Guidance? Send clear, well-lit, in-focus images showing both distribution and morphology, add a structured description, include the relevant history, and ask a specific question. The quality of the answer depends on the quality of your request.
Should GPs use dermoscopy? For GPs who assess pigmented lesions regularly, dermoscopy improves accuracy when properly trained, so structured training and a systematic approach are worthwhile. It supplements, rather than replaces, knowing your urgent skin cancer referral criteria.