Updates on coding in dermatology.

Correct coding is an important component of effective dermatology practice management. Over the past several years there have been updates to many commonly used codes within dermatology. This review highlights many of these updates, such as: the skin biopsy codes have been subdivided to reflect the different biopsy techniques.

Development of a core outcome set for basal cell carcinoma.

Background: There is variation in the outcomes reported in clinical studies of basal cell carcinoma. This can prevent effective meta-analyses from answering important clinical questions.

Objective: To identify a recommended minimum set of core outcomes for basal cell carcinoma clinical trials.

Future considerations for clinical dermatology in the setting of 21st century American policy reform: The Relative Value Scale Update Committee.

The American Medical Association-Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee, also known as the RUC, plays a critical role in assessing the relative value of physician services and procedures. This committee provides access for all physicians, including dermatologists, to the reimbursement process. Since the introduction of the Resource-Based Relative Value Scale by Medicare, the RUC has done important work to evaluate and refine reimbursement for physician services.

A risk adjustment approach to estimating the burden of skin disease in the United States.

Direct insurance claims tabulation and risk adjustment statistical methods can be used to estimate health care costs associated with various diseases. In this third manuscript derived from the new national Burden of Skin Disease Report from the American Academy of Dermatology, a risk adjustment method that was based on modeling the average annual costs of individuals with or without specific diseases, and specifically tailored for 24 skin disease categories, was used to estimate the economic burden of skin disease. The results were compared with the claims tabulation method used in the first 2 parts of this project.

Contribution of health care factors to the burden of skin disease in the United States.

The American Academy of Dermatology has developed an up-to-date national Burden of Skin Disease Report on the impact of skin disease on patients and on the US population. In this second of 3 manuscripts, data are presented on specific health care dimensions that contribute to the overall burden of skin disease. Through the use of data derived from medical claims in 2013 for 24 skin disease categories, these results indicate that skin disease health care is delivered most frequently to the aging US population, who are afflicted with more skin diseases than other age groups.

The burden of skin disease in the United States.

Since the publication of the last US national burden of skin disease report in 2006, there have been substantial changes in the practice of dermatology and the US health care system. These include the development of new treatment modalities, marked increases in the cost of medications, increasingly complex payer rules and regulations, and an aging of the US population. Recognizing the need for up-to-date data to inform researchers, policy makers, public stakeholders, and health care providers about the impact of skin disease on patients and US society, the American Academy of Dermatology produced a new national burden of skin disease report.