Dual Office Dermatologists

[HomerSD]

Interesting article in the NY Times about dual office dermatologists--ie those with different waiting rooms and office numbers for cosmetic patients versus med derm patients.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/us/28beauty.html

Irrespective of whether or not the med derm patients are getting less care or not, the dual office situation don't reflect well on the medical profession.

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[gluon999]

Irrespective of whether or not the med derm patients are getting less care or not, the dual office situation don't reflect well on the medical profession.

I wonder if that derm guy making 700k thinks the same?

 

[MOHS_01]

This has been done for years. We also separate out the surgical waiting room from the general derm, albeit for different reasons.

I see nothing wrong with it at all -- as long as patient care is not being compromised.

The "good" docs effectively manage their scheduling so that there is minimal overlap between different patient populations at any given time.

 

[yaah]

I think the main point of the article though was that patient care IS being compromised, because of how widespread this practice is and how difficult it actually is to get an appointment as a result. The stuff about different waiting rooms, etc, is all fluff that is meant to attract readers.

 

[MOHS_01]

.

 

[MOHS_01]

I think the main point of the article though was that patient care IS being compromised, because of how widespread this practice is and how difficult it actually is to get an appointment as a result. The stuff about different waiting rooms, etc, is all fluff that is meant to attract readers.

It is my (and many others) belief that far too many people have been inappropriately dramatic regarding this. Several points to be made here:

The best conducted study (although there have been several, mostly with comparable results) on appointment wait time differences between specialties across many cities was performed by Merritt Hawkins a couple of years ago (and is still available on their website). Dermatology did not have significantly longer wait times compared to other specialties.

The "dermatology workforce shortage" was perpetuated by *possibly* well meaning academic dermatologists, many of whom have some conflicts of interests which were not adequately disclosed prior to, during, or after their comments on the matter. If you follow the issue within the specialty you will find that this matter has fallen by the wayside for good reason.

Several forces play into this "shortage", but it has been shown time and again that the advent of cosmetic dermatology is a very minor factor, with hours worked and patient volume serviced by far and away being the major contributing factor.

I don't know if anyone read through some of the comments posted by the readers, but you have to look no further to see why the practice of medicine is trouble currently (and, in all likelihood, headed for darker times). When an ever increasing swath of the population believes that you should be available to serve them, at their beck and call, in short order, and do so for less than the cost of dinner at a low cost chain restaurant -- you know that we've fallen from societal graces.

 

[yaah]

Oh, I agree that article was a bit inflammatory. The part about the Valet Parking was especially interesting, as some of the comments pointed out. The Valet Parking is available for anyone, it's not like cosmetic patients get a better deal.

But I totally agree that the sense of entitlement from some patients is part of the problem. Everyone believes that their problem is more important than everyone else's. In addition to the things you mention, the population also believes that YOU (doctors) should stop whining about compensation (because doctors make too much money anyway). Patients also do not want to assume any of the drawbacks that come from a litigious environment. They don't want their health care costs to rise, yet they want everything done for themselves when they are ill.

From what I've seen in my dermatology experiences, the major factor in it being difficult to get in to see a dermatologist is the sheer volume of patients, many of whom expect to be seen every 3-4 months for full body checks and biopsies.