Alaska Unified Rural Outreach for Regional Access

Rural dermatology access, built for Alaska.

AURORA connects local clinics, tribal health organizations, rural hospitals, and primary care teams to Alaska dermatology hubs, so patients can receive specialty guidance without leaving their community whenever clinically appropriate.

AURORA at a glance

A specialty access network for rural Alaska

Hubs
Anchorage, Wasilla, Juneau, with Fairbanks in development
Model
Hub-and-spoke teledermatology
Status
Phase 0, recruiting founding spoke sites
Spokes
Tribal health, FQHCs, rural clinics, critical access hospitals
Focus
Immune-mediated skin disease and medical dermatology access
AnchorageWasillaJuneauFairbanks · in developmentFounding spoke sites · statewide

How AURORA works

One pathway, from the village clinic to the dermatology hub

1

Patient seen locally

Care starts at the local clinic, with the team the patient already knows.

2

Photos and data captured

The spoke captures standardized photos and the AURORA minimum data set.

3

Hub reviews

A dermatology hub reviews the case by teledermatology.

4

Plan returned

A diagnosis and plan come back to the local team.

5

Local follow-up

Treatment and monitoring happen close to home, with hub support.

Why AURORA exists

The right care is too far away for too many Alaskans

These diseases are systemic

Psoriasis, hidradenitis suppurativa, atopic dermatitis, and related conditions are whole-body inflammatory diseases tied to the joints, heart, metabolism, and mental health. They need real diagnosis and management, not just a cream.

The specialty gap is wide

Across rural and remote Alaska, the nearest dermatologist can be hundreds of miles and several flights away, so conditions go undiagnosed and undertreated for years.

Distance should not decide care

Where a patient lives should not determine whether a treatable disease is caught early. AURORA brings specialty input to the local team instead of asking every patient to travel.

Evidence-based options have expanded

Many chronic inflammatory skin diseases now have more treatment pathways than they did a decade ago. AURORA helps rural teams recognize when a condition needs specialty input, documentation, monitoring, or referral.

Conditions supported

Built around immune-mediated skin disease

AURORA Core focuses on systemic immune-mediated diseases that fit the hub-and-spoke model, and it supports general dermatology and urgent triage alongside them.

Phase 0, building the foundation

Help build specialty access for rural Alaska

AURORA is recruiting founding spoke sites and developing the training, photo standards, and workflow that make rural teledermatology work. If you serve a rural community, we would like to talk.