Dermatology Centre

This clinic focuses on urgent dermatology consultations within Providence Health Care.

Locations

Room 518, Davie Building

Clinic hours:

Monday & Friday
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Phone: 604-806-9409

Mount Saint Joseph Hospital, Outpatient Area

Phone: 604-874-1141

Mount Saint Joseph Hospital Patient & Visitor Guide

• Patients we see at these clinics:
  • You can be referred to this clinic if you have a skin condition that requires urgent care (within 1-3 weeks).
  • You can also be referred to this clinic if you need fast tracked diagnosis and treatment. That means your condition is symptomatic but not life, limb or organ-threatening.
  • If you need to be seen immediately (within the next week), your referring physician must call the Dermatology On Call Service via St. Paul's Hospital Locating to discuss.
  • Note that this is a rapid-access clinic. We are here to diagnose and stabilize skin conditions. Once that's done, we'll discharge you from the clinic back to the care of your primary care provider.
• Patients we don't see at these clinics:
  • If you have a limb or organ-threatening conditions, your primary care provider must call the Dermatology on Call Service via St. Paul's Hospital to discuss.
  • We don't need to see you if you have a current community dermatologist.
  • We don't treat children (pediatric patients).
  • We don't treat chronic, stable conditions (i.e. hair, nail, acne conditions).

The MedSafe Clinic is the first of its kind in Canada. It provides a unique model of care for people who have survived severe skin-related adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Our specialist team includes allergy, immunology, dermatology and clinical pharmacology physicians.

We assess patients with a known history of severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs). SCAR refers to bad reactions to medications that mostly involve the skin. To find the drug causing the problem, the clinic also offers research and clinical tests. Some of the tests include:

• Lymphocyte toxicity assays
• OX40 assay
• HLA testing
• Pharmacogenomic testing
• Contact dermatitis testing

Once we find the problem, we provide safe alternative drug options for future use. If needed, the clinic also offers counselling and testing to family members.

Location

Room 518, Davie Building

Clinic hours:

Monday
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Phone: 604-806-9409

• Who we can treat:
  • Those with a confirmed history of SCARs (i.e. SJS, TEN, DRESS, AGEP*)
  • Patients referred by specialists only (Internal Medicine, Allergy/Immunology, Infectious Disease, Rheumatology, Dermatology)
  • Family members with one of these conditions (for counselling)
  • Patients who are medically stable and discharged from the hospital
  • Patients with a history of a cutaneous eruption (skin rash)

• We cannot not treat:

  • Patients with an acute drug eruption of any kind*
  • Inpatients (patients in the hospital)
  • Patients with self-reported drug allergies

  *Stevens-Johnson syndrome, Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis, Drug Eruption with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms, Acute Generalized Exanthematous Pustulosis

We provide clinical assessments and comprehensive skin patch testing. These tests help in the evaluation of allergic contact dermatitis, including occupational dermatitis. Patch testing will determine if you are allergic to something that your skin has touched. Avoiding products with ingredients you are allergic to may relieve your skin symptoms.

Location

Room 518, Davie Building

Clinic hours:

Wednesday
8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Friday
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

Phone: 604-806-9409

Learn more

We assess and treat patients with autoimmune rheumatic disease and associated skin manifestations. Both a rheumatologist and a dermatologist attend the clinic.

Location

Room 518, Davie Building

Clinic hours:

Tuesday
8:15 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Phone: 604-806-9409

We can treat:

• Adult patients only (18+)
• Patients a dermatologist (skin doctor) or rheumatologist (arthritis and autoimmunity doctor) has referred
• Patients with skin manifestations. They may be the result of a rheumatic disease, its diagnosis or management

Phototherapy uses lightwaves to treat certain skin conditions. The skin is exposed to an ultraviolet (UV) light for a set amount of time.

We use narrow-band ultraviolet light (NB-UVB) to treat resistant skin disorders including:

• Psoriasis
• Eczema
• Generalized pruritus
• Renal pruritus

Our team offers phototherapy in two to three weekly sessions.

Location

Room 518, Davie Building

Phone: 604-806-9409

Our patients are:

• Adults (18+)
• Have dermatology conditions that are treatable by NB-UVB
• Referred from Providence Health Care sites or dermatologists

You are not able to attend this clinic if:

• You are taking medications that cause photosensitivity (sensitivity to light)
• You have medical conditions that make you photosensitive (for example, lupus)

Our clinic offers fast-tracked access to skin cancer excision (removal) surgery. We also do dermatologic surgery. It treats conditions like hidradenitis suppurativa, a disease that inflames the apocrine sweat glands.

Location

Room 518, Davie Building

Clinic hours:

Thursday
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Phone: 604-806-9409

We can treat:

• Adult patients only (18+)
• Referrals from dermatologists only
• Booking priority is given to Providence Health Care patients*

*Please note: We are a teaching clinic. We keep patient caseloads lower to manage supervision and quality education of residents (senior medical students).

This is a clinic for autoimmune blistering diseases. We assess and manage patients with various autoimmune blistering conditions.

Referrals will be accepted from dermatologists, medical specialists, oral pathologists/oral medicine specialists and family physicians/primary care doctors. This is a consultation clinic  only and patients will not be followed long-term after initial management.

Location

Room 518, Davie Building

Clinic hours:

Friday mornings once per month

Phone: 604-806-9409

Patients we can see at this clinic:

• Suspected or confirmed autoimmune blistering conditions such as: 
  • bullous pemphigoid
  • mucous membrane pemphigoid
  • pemphigus vulgaris
  • pemphigus foliaceous
  • paraneoplastic pemphigus
  • pemphigoid gestationis
  • linear IgA disease
  • dermatitis herpetiformis
  • epidermolysis bullosa acquisita
  • bullous lupus etc. for diagnostic or management purposes.

Patients we do not see at this clinic:

• We do not treat children (pediatric patients)
• Patients with limb or organ-threatening conditions. You must call the Dermatology on Call Service through St. Paul's Hospital to discuss these cases.

The John Ruedy Clinic (JRC) at St. Paul’s Hospital houses this specialized clinic. It caters to the unique and specific dermatologic needs of the HIV population.

Location

5th floor, Burrard Building, St. Paul's Hospital

This clinic is located within the John Ruedy Clinic.

St. Paul's Hospital Patient & Visitor Guide

This clinic addresses skin cancer issues unique to renal transplant patients. Treatment for skin problems is integrated into the St. Paul’s Hospital post-renal transplant clinic.

Location

6A, Providence Building, St. Paul's Hospital

Clinic hours:

Wednesday

St. Paul's Hospital Patient & Visitor Guide

Our patients are:

• Post-renal transplant patients followed at Providence Health Care
• Screened and triaged for skin cancer assessment
• Prioritized if they have a known current skin cancer or rapidly growing lesion/lesions suspicious for skin cancer
• Pre-renal transplant patients at Providence Health Care with a possible active skin cancer or pre-cancer

You are not able to attend this clinic if you are:

• A non-renal transplant patient
• A non-Providence Health Care renal transplant patient
• A non-skin cancer related and/or chronic skin issues in transplant patient

Dermatology and Psychiatry runs this clinic. It serves patients suffering from skin and psychiatric diseases. Both a psychiatrist and dermatologist assess patients referred to this clinic. This is a consult-only clinic. The patient will return to the care of the referring physician with recommendations for management.

Location

Mount Saint Joseph Hospital, Outpatient Area

Mount Saint Joseph Hospital Patient & Visitor Guide

The Vulvar Dermatology Clinic specializes in the care of skin disorders and lesions of the vulva. A referral can be made through the PHC intake form for the following:

1. Primary cutaneous condition affecting the vulva for more than 3 months (referrals for vulvodynia will be declined)
2. Recalcitrant vulvar cutaneous disease
3. Suspicious lesions on the vulva

Location

Mount Saint Joseph Hospital

Mount Saint Joseph Hospital Patient & Visitor Guide