I n 2005, we bring you four new departments — “Pharmacotherapy Update,” “Pediatric Patient Care,” “Allergen Focus” and “Practice Pearls.”
In the December issue, I introduced two of the four departments mentioned above. These included “Pharmacotherapy Update” (see page 50), which focuses on new therapies and research for common dermatologic conditions and is authored by Dr. James Q. Del Rosso, and “Pediatric Patient Care” (see page 22), which highlights diagnostic and treatment advice for important, and sometimes life-threatening conditions that affect children. This quarterly column will be authored by Drs. Miriam Weinstein and Elena Pope.
This month, I’ll highlight the last two of the four new columns, “Allergen Focus” and “Practice Pearls.”

Allergen Focus
In her column (which debuted in January), Sharon Jacob, M.D., demystifies the T.R.U.E. text allergens, exploring them in a whole new light to give you insight into the background of these common allergens. Dr. Jacob, who is the Director of the Contact Dermatitis Clinic at the University of Miami, also shares practical tips that you can use to educate patients who are allergic to the allergen highlighted in that month’s column. Her column will run again
in March and on a monthly basis after that.

Practice Pearls
In this issue, we also debut a new monthly department highlighting tips for strengthening the financial health of your practice (see page 18). Jointly authored by Wm. Philip Werschler, M.D., and Brad Harland, C.P.A., this column will feature a range of topics, including this month’s column on
analyzing your practice’s finances: Which numbers to review and how often you should review them.

If you’d like to offer feedback on any of our new departments or the
publication in general, I’d love to hear from you.

Larisa Hubbs
Executive Editor
lhubbs@hmpcommunications.com