Assuring the quality of medical care is such a laudable goal as there is a constant pressure to do more to see quality improved. Lifetime board certification appears to be an anachronism. New trainees are already subject to time-limited certification.

The content of these questions and answers are taken from the Galderma Pre-Board Slide Seminar. The course was most recently held July 17-19, 2009, at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare, Rosemont, IL.

As Dr. Van Voorhees observes in this month’s column, transitions in psoriasis treatment — as in life — often require adjustments. Here she offers her own strategies to best manage changing treatments.

Transitions in my opinion are always a challenge. At each of life’s stages, the path to the new place is often a bit rocky, even when the opportunities ahead look enticing. It has always struck me that these times can be fraught with missteps as we learn the rules, test the waters and establish our bearings. Losing one’s comfort zone is not an easy task for most of us.

It also strike

While physicians’ costs rise, Medicare seeks to cut their compensation. Now they await with dread the threatened but still pending 21.2% decrease in the Medicare reimbursement rate. Dr. Kircik, for one, is mad and wonders if physicians should take it anymore.

What would be your employees’ reaction if you first told them you plan to cut their pay by 21.2%, then said it wouldn’t take effect until the end of the year, and then, maybe not until the end of next month and then on and on? Most likely, they would say, “You can run your own office; we’re out of here!”

So, why can’t physi

Dermatology executives discuss their views of the dermatology market to provide insights on trends, challenges and changes in the industry.

Robert Ruck is currently the Vice President, Worldwide Marketing for Sciton, Inc., a Palo Alto, California-based manufacturer of medical lasers and light devices for the global aesthetic market. Mr. Ruck joined Sciton after spending nearly 7 years with Lumenis in various sales and marketing roles, ultimately rising to the position of Vice President of their Asia-Pacific distributor business. Prior to Lumenis, Mr. Ruck was a business strategy con

Dermatologists setting up shop as a clinical trial center may see many benefits, but they also face multiple challenges.

As clinical trials expand well beyond academic centers and move increasingly into the community-practice arena, many dermatologists who’ve not performed research are being enticed to give it a try. The primary appeal is the opportunity to expand the dermatologist’s — and the practice staff’s — horizons. And in this era of declining reimbursement, some practices are eyeing the remuneration of research participation as an additional revenue source.

Veterans of pr

A retrospective study and review of the literature.

Tattoo ink treatment via Quality-switched (QS) lasers is widely considered the gold standard tattoo removal modality and is a relatively safe procedure, especially when compared to the continuous wave lasers and non-laser treatment methods used in the past. That being said, adverse side effects including undesired pigmentary alterations that occasionally occur with the use of the QS devices, while widely acknowledged among laser specialists, haven’t been clearly quantified in the medical literature. This article addresses the undesi

EmerginC Launches Organic Product Line

According to a company-issued press release, Scientific Organics, a new anti-aging skincare collection from emerginC, combats lines and improves skin tone, texture and clarity with products that are paraben-free, petrochemical-free, and synthetic fragrance-free, with a minimum of 70% organic ingredients in every item.
The line includes Kombucha Cleanser for all skin types, blue algae- based Spirulina Toner, Phytocell Serum, Phytocell Detox Mask with French-green clay; and Phytocell Cream.
For more information, please visit www.emerginc.com.