News

National report - When it comes to dermatologic treatments that fall outside the mainstream, patients have long found plenty of these on their own. What they don't always find is help in evaluating these treatments' effectiveness.

National report - When it comes to dermatologic treatments that fall outside the mainstream, patients have long found plenty of these on their own. What they don't always find is help in evaluating these treatments' effectiveness.

Philadelphia - Dermatologists who set aside a few hours per year to meet with a qualified advisor to discuss asset protection, income tax reduction and estate planning will reap many business and personal financial rewards, according to David B. Mandell, J.D., M.B.A. and Lawrence B. Keller, C.L.U., Ch.F.C., R.H.U., L.U.T.C.F.

What happens north of the border can have implications in the U.S. down the road.

Many reliable sources will be providing physicians and staff input regarding all the changes set forth by the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for fiscal year 2005. Based on the display copy of the Nov. 2, 2004 Federal Register, the 2005 AMA CPT book, and the ICD-9-CM Book for 2005 published by the World Health Organization, pertinent changes for dermatology practices are summarized below:

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Have dermatologists lost their way in the pursuit of profit? A. Bernard Ackerman, M.D., director emeritus of the Ackerman Academy of Dermatopathology in New York City, believes many have.

San Francisco - Researchers are learning more than ever about oxygen's role in the healing of both acute and chronic wounds. But, generally, dermatologists aren' taking advantage of these advances, according to Harriet W. Hopf, M.D

Miami, Fla. - Dermatologists who see diabetic patients with skin infections that have not responded to typical antibiotic treatment should suspect atypical mycobacteria, according to a case study by University of Miami researchers.

When a woman has genital itching or pain, the dermatologist is the right physician to identify the cause and solution, says Libby Edwards, M.D., chief of dermatology at Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte,

National Report - With the rapid onset of new therapies available for the treatment of actinic keratosis (AK), Stacy Smith, M.D. of Therapeutics Clinical Research in California, has demonstrated that efficacy, tolerability and cost play a combined role in the approach used to treat AK.

National Report - With the rapid onset of new therapies available for the treatment of actinic keratosis (AK), Stacy Smith, M.D. of Therapeutics Clinical Research in California, has demonstrated that efficacy, tolerability and cost play a combined role in the approach used to treat AK.

San Diego-Artes Medical received an approvable letter for ArteFill from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 16, 2004.

Sophia Antipolis, France - Galderma's commitment to dermatology, and dermatology only, is nowhere more evident than in its sprawling, approximately 24,000-square-foot research and development facility in the south of France.

National report - The number of cases of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CAMRSA) among healthy American children has risen exponentially over the past few years, and resistant strains of S. aureus appear to be more virulent than non-resistant strains.

Zurich - Although data on the incidence and prevalence of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) remain limited, Dr. Rolf-Markus Szeimies of the department of dermatology, University of Regensburg Hospital, Germany, has compiled epidemiologic data demonstrating an increased incidence of actinic keratosis (AK), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC).

New York - A recent study suggests Propionobacterium acnes plays a role in the development of rosacea.

New York - With an increased understanding of the inflammatory response in acne, Diane Thiboutot, M.D., Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, has reviewed data demonstrating the role of the toll-like 2 receptors in inflammatory acne as well as the effect of retinoids in targeting inflammatory mediators.

Acne phototherapy has a very favorable safety profile.

New York - A global group of acne experts says doctors should use treatments combining a topical retinoid and an antibiotic as a first-line measure for patients with mild-to-moderate acne rather than relying on antibiotics alone.

New York-Chronic persistent acne in adult women is a common problem that often has some underlying hormonal influence, said Diane S. Berson, M.D., at the American Academy of Dermatology's Academy '04 here.

Philadelphia - Experts in the field of acne management gathered here in June to discuss the implications of recent data on the use of antibiotics in relation to the treatment of acne.

For mild-to-moderate comedonal acne, he says, he usually begins with topical retinoids.

XMP.629 belongs to the BPI family of compounds ... it is able to kill gram-negative bacteria by selectively altering their outer membrane permeability.

Success in treating acne makes some patients happy, but not all.

Winston-Salem, N.C. - Itch is a common complaint in older peoplethat requires careful investigation to identify the underlying etiology and to determine appropriate management, says Zoe D. Draelos, M.D.

National report - Men are from Mars, women are from Venus has become a popular phrase to encapsulate the fact that men and women differ. That also applies to issues of the skin as it ages.

National report - Patient demographics play a small but important role in diagnosing psoriasis and, more importantly, in providing a path to open discussion about treatment.

National report - The lack of a definitive marker indicative of rosacea leads many dermatologists to debate who has, or does not have, the condition, particularly among patients with only the erythematotelangiectatic form - a form more commonly present in women, according to Mark V. Dahl, M.D.

The scenario of decreased reimbursements, increased overhead and dermatologists working harder and taking home less money is only too familiar to most of us. In the past, I have discussed methods of decreasing overhead and have avoided the topic of decreasing reimbursements, as it was one area that I thought we had little or no control.