Preference-based measures in dermatology: an overview of utilities and willingness to pay.

In this overview of preference-based measures, utilities and willingness to pay (WTP) are discussed as measures relevant to dermatology for capturing the burden of skin diseases. An overview is provided of the concepts of utilities and WTP and their importance in decision making. Specific examples of elicitation methods for capturing utility and WTP measures are provided.

Overview of health status quality-of-life measures.

The concept of quality of life (QOL) is becoming increasingly important in medicine, particularly in dermatology where many cutaneous diseases have the potential to affect the quality rather than the length of life. There is increasing interest in devising methodology to accurately measure the impact of disease on QOL for use in clinical practice, research studies, and economic analyses. The question of which dermatologic QOL instruments to choose inevitably arises.

Melanoma reporting to central cancer registries by US dermatologists: an analysis of the persistent knowledge and practice gap.

Background: Every state requires diagnosing physicians to report new cases of melanoma to its central cancer registry. Previous regional studies and anecdotal experience suggest that few dermatologists are cognizant of this obligation. This oversight could result in a large number of unreported melanomas annually and, in turn, US melanoma statistics that markedly underestimate the true incidence of the disease.

The impact of pruritus on quality of life: the skin equivalent of pain.

Objective: To compare the impact of chronic pruritus and chronic pain on quality of life (QoL) using directly elicited health utility scores.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Convenience sample of patients attending the Emory Dermatology Clinic, Emory Spine Center, and Emory Center for Pain Management, Atlanta, Georgia.