Biopsy Quotas: Ethical Implications of Financial Incentives and Penalties on Dermatologic Care Providers.

The evolution of healthcare payment models has profoundly influenced clinical practices and physician decision-making. While fee-for-service (FFS) models incentivize procedural volume, systems based on Relative Value Units (RVUs) have introduced standardized metrics to compensate physicians based on care complexity and workload. As corporations increasingly own healthcare, financial incentives such as RVUs and procedural quotas raise ethical concerns.

Navigating the Ethics of Predatory Journals and Processing Fees in Dermatology.

The rise of predatory journals has created a pressing ethical dilemma in academic publishing, exploiting researchers' urgency to publish while prioritizing profits over quality. These journals, characterized by deceptive practices and inadequate peer review, often undermine scientific integrity and disproportionately affect early-career academicians and those from underfunded institutions. While open-access publishing aims to democratize knowledge, its reliance on high processing charges (APCs) poses accessibility challenges, particularly in resource-limited settings.

Impersonating Expertise: The Ethics of Misleading Dermatology Advertising.

The proliferation of medical spas has led to an increase in misleading advertising practices, particularly relating to the qualifications of practitioners and the risks of cosmetic procedures. Aestheticians manage many spas without having the extensive and rigorous training that board-certified dermatologists undergo. By advertising physician oversight when there is none and promoting procedures as minimally invasive, these facilities create a false sense of security for patients.

What is reflectance confocal microscopy and what are the barriers to adoption in pediatric dermatology.

Herein we review the applicability of reflectance confocal microscopy to pediatric dermatologists as well as the barriers that must be overcome to adopt this technology.

Therapeutic orphans, off-label, pediatric drug development: towards reasonable pharmacotherapy for minors.

Introduction: The concept that children are therapeutic orphans emerged in the 1960s, triggering eventually worldwide legislation to facilitate pediatric studies, called 'Pediatric Drug Development (PDD).' However, PDD's true aim is not better medicines for children but labels in minors; minors are not another species.

Areas Covered: Absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) differ in preterm newborns, but babies mature.

Incidence and outcomes of Merkel cell carcinoma related to Merkel cell polyomavirus status in Iceland in 1981-2023.

Background: Impact of Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) associated Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) has not been assessed in the Icelandic population, nor in a whole population elsewhere.

Objectives: The primary objective was to assess trends in the incidence of MCC in Iceland and the association with MCPyV. Secondary objectives aimed to analyze MCC outcomes.

Clinical Utility of a Digital Dermoscopy Image-Based Artificial Intelligence Device in the Diagnosis and Management of Skin Cancer by Dermatologists.

Background: Patients with skin lesions suspicious for skin cancer or atypical melanocytic nevi of uncertain malignant potential often present to dermatologists, who may have variable dermoscopy triage clinical experience.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical utility of a digital dermoscopy image-based artificial intelligence algorithm (DDI-AI device) on the diagnosis and management of skin cancers by dermatologists.

Methods: Thirty-six United States board-certified dermatologists evaluated 50 clinical images and 50 digital dermoscopy images of the same skin lesions (25 malignant and 25 benign), first without and then with knowledge of the DDI-AI device output.

Ethical Issues Regarding Dermatopathology Care for Service-Members: A Review.

Dermatologic care within the military faces unique ethical challenges. Service members are stationed across nationally and globally diverse settings, and therefore, dermatologic care rendered ranges from within resource-rich, advanced military medical treatment facilities to austere, resource-limited, deployed field environments. Additionally, military service members are often at unique risk for dermatologic disease, given occupational, environmental, and geographic exposures not commonly faced by their civilian counterparts.

Declining invasive and rising in situ melanoma incidence trends in Iceland: A nationwide cohort study.

Background: Melanoma is increasing worldwide, with incidence rates of invasive melanoma and melanoma in situ (MIS) varying by country.

Objective: To provide updated invasive melanoma and MIS incidence and mortality trends in Iceland and explore differences among sex and rurality.

Methods: In this whole-population study using the Icelandic Cancer Registry, patients diagnosed with invasive melanoma or MIS between 1957 and 2021 were included.

Part I: Health issues of those experiencing trafficking: Background and context for dermatologists.

Human trafficking is a global human rights violation affecting millions of individuals across diverse demographic characteristics with severe health consequences. Despite the frequent interactions that exploited individuals have with health care systems, many remain unrecognized, positioning health care providers, including dermatologists, as critical first responders. In the first part of this three-paper series, we discuss the current landscape of human trafficking from a health care perspective, emphasizing the role of dermatologists in recognizing and responding to this issue.