Editors



Current Editors: Jane Onyemachi and Madelyn Schmidt

(Please email editors if there is blog-worthy news that you would like to see shared)

Past Editors: Fareen Momin, Andrea Francis, Renat Ahatov, Michael Phan, Elise Weisert, Michael Ryan, Keith Wagner, Tim Allen, Kristyna Gleghorn, Dung Mac, Alex Acosta, William Tausend, Sheila Jalalat, Rebecca Philips, Chelsea Altinger, Lindsey Hunter, Alison Wiesenthal, Leslie Scroggins, Mara Dacso, Ashley Group, Fadi Constantine, Emily Fridlington, Joslyn Witherspoon, Tasneem Poonawalla.

Wednesday, May 09, 2018

Dermatology Horror Story

In the May 2018 issue of Dermatology Times (page 10), Dr. Zoey Draelos wrote about how vertical integration of healthcare may drastically change current dermatology practice. It starts with the purchase of national pharmacy chains and large physician practices by insurance companies. These insurance companies then set up medical clinics in all of their pharmacies, with staffing by nurse practitioners. Nurse practitioners would diagnose and treat skin disease utilizing medicine conveniently available in the pharmacy. A lower cost of care for patients in this setting could financially incentivize them to use these facilities. It is projected that almost half of all visits would be skin disease related. The only patients that would be referred to a dermatologist would be those failing to respond to treatment, and referrals would only be made to dermatologists employed by the insurance company. These dermatologists would be limited to prescribing medicines that financially benefit the insurance company due to prior pharmacy-benefit manager relationships.