A diverse group of dermatologists, patient advocates, and industry and government representatives, led by the American Academy of Dermatology, have identified cutaneous oncology, pruritus, and performance outcomes and measurement as the most critical research needs in the field of dermatology.
The consensus research agenda was hammered out during a 2-day conference in Washington, D.C., in June. Over the next few months, small groups of conference participants will formulate ideas for how to carry out the research plan, with the goal of bringing their recommendations to the AAD’s annual meeting in March 2013.
Dr. Henry W. Lim
The AAD and its partners came up with the research topics after surveying 20 dermatology societies and 15 patient advocacy groups about their research priorities. Conference participants then narrowed the list of possible research areas down to three. Some of the areas that didn’t make the cut included drug reactions, pediatric vascular anomalies, and wound care, according to Dr. Henry W. Lim, chair of the Research Agenda Committee and professor and chairman of dermatology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
Some of the proposed areas already had robust research efforts underway, while others could fit under the broader topics of cutaneous oncology, pruritus, and performance measurement, Dr. Lim said.
Pruritus and cutaneous oncology rose to the top of the list because the conditions are common, yet have significant gaps in both basic and clinical research. "We all felt that there was a significant knowledge and research gap in these areas," Dr. Lim said. For example, even though pruritus is a condition that dermatologists see every day, there is not a uniform scoring system for ranking the severity of the condition.
The gaps in classification affect not only day-to-day treatment, but also drug evaluation efforts at the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Lim said.
The group also saw a need for more cutaneous oncology research, ranging from treatment to public education. "Clearly a lot of research has been done, but it is one of the most common and one of the most expensive conditions that we deal with," Dr. Lim said. "There are still a lot of areas that we need to cover."
The group included the final topic – performance outcomes and measurement – because of the growing pressure from the federal government and other payers to measure health care quality, said AAD President Daniel M. Siegel.
Dr. Daniel M. Siegel
But making performance measurement a focus of research will also support data collection in other research areas and the movement toward electronic health records, Dr. Lim said.
The AAD, which is spearheading efforts to create a dermatology research agenda, does not fund research. However, Dr. Siegel said the AAD can do a lot to promote the agenda. For instance, the AAD will consider these research priorities when developing clinical guidelines, patient care guidelines, and continuing medical education. And, the AAD can highlight the research gaps in hopes of getting more scientists interested in the topics.
Even if researchers don’t immediately begin studies on these topics, that is alright, Dr. Siegel said, because advances that benefit dermatology can certainly come from other areas of medicine.
"The goal that I think most of us have ... is that we want to see research," Dr. Siegel said. "We want to see everything funded. You just never know where the benefits are."