Dermatology News

TOPLINE:

Patients with both systemic sclerosis (SSc) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are more likely to be female, Black, and diagnosed with limited cutaneous SSc.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers used the 2019 SLE classification criteria from the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology and American College of Rheumatology to identify patients with SSc who also met criteria for SLE at a single academic center.
• The study population included 402 adults with SSc.
• The researchers compared demographics, laboratory data, clinical features, and mortality between patients with SSc-SLE and patients with SSc only.

TAKEAWAY:

• Among the 402 patients with SSc who were analyzed, 40 (10%) met the 2019 EULAR/ACR Classification Criteria for SLE.
• Patients with both SSc and SLE were significantly more likely to be female and Black, which is consistent with previous studies; patients with both conditions also were more likely than those with SSc alone to have limited cutaneous SSc (75% vs. 52.2%; P = .006).
• The prevalence of anti-U1-RNP antibody positivity, a classic marker for mixed connective tissue disease, was 30% in SSc-SLE patients and 6.6% in those with SSc only (P < .001).
• Mortality was similar between the two groups, and similar rates were also seen between the two for severe SSc-related end-organ damage, including pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, and scleroderma renal crisis.

IN PRACTICE:

The results highlight the need for clinicians to recognize the SSc-SLE overlap syndrome and to watch for scleroderma organ involvement in patients with features of SLE, Raynaud syndrome, anti-U1-RNP antibody positivity, or an isolated nucleolar pattern of antinuclear antibodies.

SOURCE:

First author Ronald D. Bass, MD, MBA, of Georgetown University, Washington, and colleagues published their report online in Arthritis Care & Research.

LIMITATIONS:

The primary cohort was designed to compare Black to non-Black patients with SSc, and the process of matching these patients may have introduced unmeasured selection bias. Also, since the study was based on classification criteria and not diagnostic criteria, the overlapping patients may not reflect patients with true overlapping of both conditions.

DISCLOSURES:

No outside funding source was listed by the authors. The researchers report no relevant financial relationships.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

TOPLINE:

Patients with both systemic sclerosis (SSc) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are more likely to be female, Black, and diagnosed with limited cutaneous SSc.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers used the 2019 SLE classification criteria from the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology and American College of Rheumatology to identify patients with SSc who also met criteria for SLE at a single academic center.
• The study population included 402 adults with SSc.
• The researchers compared demographics, laboratory data, clinical features, and mortality between patients with SSc-SLE and patients with SSc only.

TAKEAWAY:

• Among the 402 patients with SSc who were analyzed, 40 (10%) met the 2019 EULAR/ACR Classification Criteria for SLE.
• Patients with both SSc and SLE were significantly more likely to be female and Black, which is consistent with previous studies; patients with both conditions also were more likely than those with SSc alone to have limited cutaneous SSc (75% vs. 52.2%; P = .006).
• The prevalence of anti-U1-RNP antibody positivity, a classic marker for mixed connective tissue disease, was 30% in SSc-SLE patients and 6.6% in those with SSc only (P < .001).
• Mortality was similar between the two groups, and similar rates were also seen between the two for severe SSc-related end-organ damage, including pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, and scleroderma renal crisis.

IN PRACTICE:

The results highlight the need for clinicians to recognize the SSc-SLE overlap syndrome and to watch for scleroderma organ involvement in patients with features of SLE, Raynaud syndrome, anti-U1-RNP antibody positivity, or an isolated nucleolar pattern of antinuclear antibodies.

SOURCE:

First author Ronald D. Bass, MD, MBA, of Georgetown University, Washington, and colleagues published their report online in Arthritis Care & Research.

LIMITATIONS:

The primary cohort was designed to compare Black to non-Black patients with SSc, and the process of matching these patients may have introduced unmeasured selection bias. Also, since the study was based on classification criteria and not diagnostic criteria, the overlapping patients may not reflect patients with true overlapping of both conditions.

DISCLOSURES:

No outside funding source was listed by the authors. The researchers report no relevant financial relationships.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

TOPLINE:

Patients with both systemic sclerosis (SSc) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are more likely to be female, Black, and diagnosed with limited cutaneous SSc.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers used the 2019 SLE classification criteria from the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology and American College of Rheumatology to identify patients with SSc who also met criteria for SLE at a single academic center.
• The study population included 402 adults with SSc.
• The researchers compared demographics, laboratory data, clinical features, and mortality between patients with SSc-SLE and patients with SSc only.

TAKEAWAY:

• Among the 402 patients with SSc who were analyzed, 40 (10%) met the 2019 EULAR/ACR Classification Criteria for SLE.
• Patients with both SSc and SLE were significantly more likely to be female and Black, which is consistent with previous studies; patients with both conditions also were more likely than those with SSc alone to have limited cutaneous SSc (75% vs. 52.2%; P = .006).
• The prevalence of anti-U1-RNP antibody positivity, a classic marker for mixed connective tissue disease, was 30% in SSc-SLE patients and 6.6% in those with SSc only (P < .001).
• Mortality was similar between the two groups, and similar rates were also seen between the two for severe SSc-related end-organ damage, including pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, and scleroderma renal crisis.

IN PRACTICE:

The results highlight the need for clinicians to recognize the SSc-SLE overlap syndrome and to watch for scleroderma organ involvement in patients with features of SLE, Raynaud syndrome, anti-U1-RNP antibody positivity, or an isolated nucleolar pattern of antinuclear antibodies.

SOURCE:

First author Ronald D. Bass, MD, MBA, of Georgetown University, Washington, and colleagues published their report online in Arthritis Care & Research.

LIMITATIONS:

The primary cohort was designed to compare Black to non-Black patients with SSc, and the process of matching these patients may have introduced unmeasured selection bias. Also, since the study was based on classification criteria and not diagnostic criteria, the overlapping patients may not reflect patients with true overlapping of both conditions.

DISCLOSURES:

No outside funding source was listed by the authors. The researchers report no relevant financial relationships.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

SAN DIEGO – Injecting a scar with intralesional steroids is a popular way to reduce its size and soften the surrounding tissue, but proper technique matters, according to Victor Ross, MD.

“A lot of lip service is paid to how to inject the steroid,” Dr. Ross, director of laser and cosmetic dermatology at the Scripps Clinic in San Diego, said at the annual Masters of Aesthetics Symposium. “The most important part is the amount and the fastidiousness that you have injecting. You should see the tip of the needle and be very slow. Use a 1 cc syringe.” He used to inject scars with triamcinolone acetate 40 mg/mL, but now he almost always injects 10-20 mg/mL to avoid inducing white streak-like atrophy or hypopigmentation around the treated area.

“When you treat a scar, you treat the features of the scar that make it stand out,” Dr. Ross continued. “If it’s red, you address the hyperemia. If it’s brown, you address the pigment. You want to have a reasonable pathophysiological basis for what you’re doing. Understand how the scar got there and have a reasonable algorithm.” When he counsels patients about clinical outcomes to expect, he emphasizes rehabilitation instead of blemish-free perfection. “It’s not making the scar go away,” he said. “It’s not restoring completely normal skin form and function; it’s a restorative effort to get toward normality. That’s what it’s all about.”

Besides injecting scars with triamcinolone acetate, other scar treatment options include intralesional 5-fluorouracil, oral antihistamines, COX-2 inhibitors, hydrogel sheeting, compression, acoustic wave therapy, photodynamic therapy, radiofrequency, and lasers. “I’m not a big fan of low-level light; it probably does something [to scars], but I’m skeptical,” Dr. Ross said.

In his clinical opinion, most scars respond best to treatments with ablative and nonablative fractional lasers tuned to gentle settings such as an energy level of 20 millijoules at a density of 5%-10%. “Every scar deserves a chance for laser remediation and rehabilitation,” he said. “With radiation scars you want to be particularly gentle. If you have a Mohs scar that has been subsequently treated with radiation, I would lower my settings by half, because I’ve had some scars worsen with settings for red scars after radiation therapy.”

He often uses fractional lasers for stubborn acne scarring. “The hyperemic component you can treat with a vascular laser, then come back [and treat the scarring] with a nonablative fractional laser, or you could use radiofrequency microneedling as well,” Dr. Ross said.

New or innovative scar treatments coming down the pike, he said, include the following: mitomycin C (applied topically, he said that this has worked well for postoperative keloids), tamoxifen, oral methotrexate, imiquimod (which has mixed results to date), platelet-rich plasma, and retinoids.

Dr. Ross disclosed having research and financial ties to numerous pharmaceutical and device companies.

SAN DIEGO – Injecting a scar with intralesional steroids is a popular way to reduce its size and soften the surrounding tissue, but proper technique matters, according to Victor Ross, MD.

“A lot of lip service is paid to how to inject the steroid,” Dr. Ross, director of laser and cosmetic dermatology at the Scripps Clinic in San Diego, said at the annual Masters of Aesthetics Symposium. “The most important part is the amount and the fastidiousness that you have injecting. You should see the tip of the needle and be very slow. Use a 1 cc syringe.” He used to inject scars with triamcinolone acetate 40 mg/mL, but now he almost always injects 10-20 mg/mL to avoid inducing white streak-like atrophy or hypopigmentation around the treated area.

“When you treat a scar, you treat the features of the scar that make it stand out,” Dr. Ross continued. “If it’s red, you address the hyperemia. If it’s brown, you address the pigment. You want to have a reasonable pathophysiological basis for what you’re doing. Understand how the scar got there and have a reasonable algorithm.” When he counsels patients about clinical outcomes to expect, he emphasizes rehabilitation instead of blemish-free perfection. “It’s not making the scar go away,” he said. “It’s not restoring completely normal skin form and function; it’s a restorative effort to get toward normality. That’s what it’s all about.”

Besides injecting scars with triamcinolone acetate, other scar treatment options include intralesional 5-fluorouracil, oral antihistamines, COX-2 inhibitors, hydrogel sheeting, compression, acoustic wave therapy, photodynamic therapy, radiofrequency, and lasers. “I’m not a big fan of low-level light; it probably does something [to scars], but I’m skeptical,” Dr. Ross said.

In his clinical opinion, most scars respond best to treatments with ablative and nonablative fractional lasers tuned to gentle settings such as an energy level of 20 millijoules at a density of 5%-10%. “Every scar deserves a chance for laser remediation and rehabilitation,” he said. “With radiation scars you want to be particularly gentle. If you have a Mohs scar that has been subsequently treated with radiation, I would lower my settings by half, because I’ve had some scars worsen with settings for red scars after radiation therapy.”

He often uses fractional lasers for stubborn acne scarring. “The hyperemic component you can treat with a vascular laser, then come back [and treat the scarring] with a nonablative fractional laser, or you could use radiofrequency microneedling as well,” Dr. Ross said.

New or innovative scar treatments coming down the pike, he said, include the following: mitomycin C (applied topically, he said that this has worked well for postoperative keloids), tamoxifen, oral methotrexate, imiquimod (which has mixed results to date), platelet-rich plasma, and retinoids.

Dr. Ross disclosed having research and financial ties to numerous pharmaceutical and device companies.

SAN DIEGO – Injecting a scar with intralesional steroids is a popular way to reduce its size and soften the surrounding tissue, but proper technique matters, according to Victor Ross, MD.

“A lot of lip service is paid to how to inject the steroid,” Dr. Ross, director of laser and cosmetic dermatology at the Scripps Clinic in San Diego, said at the annual Masters of Aesthetics Symposium. “The most important part is the amount and the fastidiousness that you have injecting. You should see the tip of the needle and be very slow. Use a 1 cc syringe.” He used to inject scars with triamcinolone acetate 40 mg/mL, but now he almost always injects 10-20 mg/mL to avoid inducing white streak-like atrophy or hypopigmentation around the treated area.

“When you treat a scar, you treat the features of the scar that make it stand out,” Dr. Ross continued. “If it’s red, you address the hyperemia. If it’s brown, you address the pigment. You want to have a reasonable pathophysiological basis for what you’re doing. Understand how the scar got there and have a reasonable algorithm.” When he counsels patients about clinical outcomes to expect, he emphasizes rehabilitation instead of blemish-free perfection. “It’s not making the scar go away,” he said. “It’s not restoring completely normal skin form and function; it’s a restorative effort to get toward normality. That’s what it’s all about.”

Besides injecting scars with triamcinolone acetate, other scar treatment options include intralesional 5-fluorouracil, oral antihistamines, COX-2 inhibitors, hydrogel sheeting, compression, acoustic wave therapy, photodynamic therapy, radiofrequency, and lasers. “I’m not a big fan of low-level light; it probably does something [to scars], but I’m skeptical,” Dr. Ross said.

In his clinical opinion, most scars respond best to treatments with ablative and nonablative fractional lasers tuned to gentle settings such as an energy level of 20 millijoules at a density of 5%-10%. “Every scar deserves a chance for laser remediation and rehabilitation,” he said. “With radiation scars you want to be particularly gentle. If you have a Mohs scar that has been subsequently treated with radiation, I would lower my settings by half, because I’ve had some scars worsen with settings for red scars after radiation therapy.”

He often uses fractional lasers for stubborn acne scarring. “The hyperemic component you can treat with a vascular laser, then come back [and treat the scarring] with a nonablative fractional laser, or you could use radiofrequency microneedling as well,” Dr. Ross said.

New or innovative scar treatments coming down the pike, he said, include the following: mitomycin C (applied topically, he said that this has worked well for postoperative keloids), tamoxifen, oral methotrexate, imiquimod (which has mixed results to date), platelet-rich plasma, and retinoids.

Dr. Ross disclosed having research and financial ties to numerous pharmaceutical and device companies.

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended marketing authorization of lebrikizumab for the treatment of adult and adolescent patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD) who are candidates for systemic therapy.

Lebrikizumab is an investigational, monoclonal antibody that binds to cytokine interleukin (IL)-13, which has been implicated in driving the type-2 inflammatory loop in the skin, leading to skin barrier dysfunction, itch, skin thickening, and infection. The biologic is being developed by Almirall and is designed to be administered once per month. Lebrikizumab is not yet available in the United States.

According to a press release from Almirall, the CHMP opinion was based on three pivotal phase 3 studies that showed long-term response in skin clearance and itch control. ADvocate 1 and ADvocate 2 evaluated lebrikizumab as monotherapy, while ADhere assessed lebrikizumab in combination with topical corticosteroids (TCS) in adult and adolescent patients with moderate to severe AD. At week 16, more than 50% of patients with moderate to severe AD experienced at least a 75% reduction in disease severity (EASI-75) when receiving lebrikizumab monotherapy in the ADvocate studies and nearly 70% of patients receiving lebrikizumab combined with standard-of-care TCS achieved EASI-75 in the ADhere trial.

Most adverse events across the studies were mild or moderate. The most common reactions were conjunctivitis, injection site reactions, allergic conjunctivitis, and dry eye.

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended marketing authorization of lebrikizumab for the treatment of adult and adolescent patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD) who are candidates for systemic therapy.

Lebrikizumab is an investigational, monoclonal antibody that binds to cytokine interleukin (IL)-13, which has been implicated in driving the type-2 inflammatory loop in the skin, leading to skin barrier dysfunction, itch, skin thickening, and infection. The biologic is being developed by Almirall and is designed to be administered once per month. Lebrikizumab is not yet available in the United States.

According to a press release from Almirall, the CHMP opinion was based on three pivotal phase 3 studies that showed long-term response in skin clearance and itch control. ADvocate 1 and ADvocate 2 evaluated lebrikizumab as monotherapy, while ADhere assessed lebrikizumab in combination with topical corticosteroids (TCS) in adult and adolescent patients with moderate to severe AD. At week 16, more than 50% of patients with moderate to severe AD experienced at least a 75% reduction in disease severity (EASI-75) when receiving lebrikizumab monotherapy in the ADvocate studies and nearly 70% of patients receiving lebrikizumab combined with standard-of-care TCS achieved EASI-75 in the ADhere trial.

Most adverse events across the studies were mild or moderate. The most common reactions were conjunctivitis, injection site reactions, allergic conjunctivitis, and dry eye.

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended marketing authorization of lebrikizumab for the treatment of adult and adolescent patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD) who are candidates for systemic therapy.

Lebrikizumab is an investigational, monoclonal antibody that binds to cytokine interleukin (IL)-13, which has been implicated in driving the type-2 inflammatory loop in the skin, leading to skin barrier dysfunction, itch, skin thickening, and infection. The biologic is being developed by Almirall and is designed to be administered once per month. Lebrikizumab is not yet available in the United States.

According to a press release from Almirall, the CHMP opinion was based on three pivotal phase 3 studies that showed long-term response in skin clearance and itch control. ADvocate 1 and ADvocate 2 evaluated lebrikizumab as monotherapy, while ADhere assessed lebrikizumab in combination with topical corticosteroids (TCS) in adult and adolescent patients with moderate to severe AD. At week 16, more than 50% of patients with moderate to severe AD experienced at least a 75% reduction in disease severity (EASI-75) when receiving lebrikizumab monotherapy in the ADvocate studies and nearly 70% of patients receiving lebrikizumab combined with standard-of-care TCS achieved EASI-75 in the ADhere trial.

Most adverse events across the studies were mild or moderate. The most common reactions were conjunctivitis, injection site reactions, allergic conjunctivitis, and dry eye.

It is difficult to go through any publication or website these days without finding an article about artificial intelligence (AI). Many discuss its current status, while others speculate on potential future applications. Often, AI is described as an “existential threat to human health” by commentators who aren’t even aware of the definition of that term as Kierkegaard conceived it, the role of the individual to breathe meaning into life. Others characterize such cataclysmic predictions as “overblown and misdirected”.

The long-term potential for abuse of AI requires discussion, and should be addressed by policy makers, but that is beyond the scope of this column.

Meanwhile, there are many near-term opportunities for AI to improve health care and reduce tedious and time consuming tasks. Specifically, some AI-based tools are available to use in your office right now, with no “existential” threat to anybody.

The most popular current AI-based medical applications are automated scribes. They transcribe live consultations between physician and patient automatically and create a searchable report, plus notes for charts and billing.

I’ve written about AI scribes before, but the quality and user-friendliness of these products have improved dramatically in recent years. Language processing capabilities now permit you to speak naturally, without having to memorize specific commands. Some scribes can mimic your writing style based on sample notes that you enter into the system. Others allow you to integrate your own knowledge base, or a bibliography of research studies. With some systems, you can dictate notes directly into most EHR software, ask questions regarding medication dosages, or access a patient’s medical history from hospitals or other offices.

Current popular medical scribe products include DeepCura, DeepScribe, Nuance, Suki, Augmedix, Tali AI, Iodine Software, and ScribeLink. Amazon Web Services recently launched its own product, HealthScribe, as well. (As always, I have no financial interest in any product or service mentioned in this column.)

AI scribes aren’t entirely autonomous, of course; you need to read the output and check for potential inaccuracies. Still, users claim that they substantially reduce documentation and charting time, permitting more patient visits and less after-hours work.

AI can also be used to provide useful content for your patients. If you are not particularly good at writing, or don’t have the time for it, generative algorithms like the much-vaunted ChatGPT can generate posts, FAQs, and other informational content for your website, blog, or social media pages. You can ask for ideas about timely health topics and write general information articles, or create content specific to your location or specialty. You can use it to write emails informing your patients about upcoming office events or educate them on a range of topics, from getting their annual flu shots to scheduling regular screening skin exams.

With some of the same techniques and additional software, you can create entire videos for your website at a fraction of the cost of hiring a video production team. After using ChatGPT to write the content – for example, a 5-minute script on the importance of sunscreen in preventing skin cancer – you can employ a text-to-speech algorithm such as Revoicer to transform the script into audio content, and then a preproduction algorithm like Yepic or Synthesia to generate a video with a synthetic human. 

If you are unhappy with your current online presence, you can use AI to create an entire website. Through a series of questions, AI website builders such as Wix ADI, Jimdo, Hostinger, and 10Web gather all the information needed to set up a website draft that is already personalized with medical-specific content. Most offer the option to connect to Instagram, Facebook, Google My Business, and similar sites, to which they can import your office’s logo, images, and descriptive texts.

Some of them are capable of pulling up responsive site pages that automatically adjust to the device – mobile or computer – that the visitor is using. This is important, as I’ve written before, because more than half of all searches for doctors are now made on smartphones, so the more “mobile friendly” your site is, the higher it will be ranked. You can test how easily a visitor can use your website on a mobile device with Google’s free Mobile-Friendly Test.

If you give talks at medical meetings, you know how cumbersome and time-consuming it can be to create Powerpoint presentations. Once again, AI can save you time and trouble. Presentation designers such as Presentations.AI, Deck Robot, iA Presenter, and Beautiful.AI can assemble very acceptable presentations from your primary inputs. You typically choose a template, input your basic data, and AI will format the slides and offer you visuals, animations, voice-overs, and other fancy features. You will also have flexibility in changing segments or images or sizes you don’t like.

Dr. Eastern practices dermatology and dermatologic surgery in Belleville, N.J. He is the author of numerous articles and textbook chapters, and is a longtime monthly columnist for Dermatology News. Write to him at dermnews@mdedge.com.

It is difficult to go through any publication or website these days without finding an article about artificial intelligence (AI). Many discuss its current status, while others speculate on potential future applications. Often, AI is described as an “existential threat to human health” by commentators who aren’t even aware of the definition of that term as Kierkegaard conceived it, the role of the individual to breathe meaning into life. Others characterize such cataclysmic predictions as “overblown and misdirected”.

The long-term potential for abuse of AI requires discussion, and should be addressed by policy makers, but that is beyond the scope of this column.

Meanwhile, there are many near-term opportunities for AI to improve health care and reduce tedious and time consuming tasks. Specifically, some AI-based tools are available to use in your office right now, with no “existential” threat to anybody.

The most popular current AI-based medical applications are automated scribes. They transcribe live consultations between physician and patient automatically and create a searchable report, plus notes for charts and billing.

I’ve written about AI scribes before, but the quality and user-friendliness of these products have improved dramatically in recent years. Language processing capabilities now permit you to speak naturally, without having to memorize specific commands. Some scribes can mimic your writing style based on sample notes that you enter into the system. Others allow you to integrate your own knowledge base, or a bibliography of research studies. With some systems, you can dictate notes directly into most EHR software, ask questions regarding medication dosages, or access a patient’s medical history from hospitals or other offices.

Current popular medical scribe products include DeepCura, DeepScribe, Nuance, Suki, Augmedix, Tali AI, Iodine Software, and ScribeLink. Amazon Web Services recently launched its own product, HealthScribe, as well. (As always, I have no financial interest in any product or service mentioned in this column.)

AI scribes aren’t entirely autonomous, of course; you need to read the output and check for potential inaccuracies. Still, users claim that they substantially reduce documentation and charting time, permitting more patient visits and less after-hours work.

AI can also be used to provide useful content for your patients. If you are not particularly good at writing, or don’t have the time for it, generative algorithms like the much-vaunted ChatGPT can generate posts, FAQs, and other informational content for your website, blog, or social media pages. You can ask for ideas about timely health topics and write general information articles, or create content specific to your location or specialty. You can use it to write emails informing your patients about upcoming office events or educate them on a range of topics, from getting their annual flu shots to scheduling regular screening skin exams.

With some of the same techniques and additional software, you can create entire videos for your website at a fraction of the cost of hiring a video production team. After using ChatGPT to write the content – for example, a 5-minute script on the importance of sunscreen in preventing skin cancer – you can employ a text-to-speech algorithm such as Revoicer to transform the script into audio content, and then a preproduction algorithm like Yepic or Synthesia to generate a video with a synthetic human. 

If you are unhappy with your current online presence, you can use AI to create an entire website. Through a series of questions, AI website builders such as Wix ADI, Jimdo, Hostinger, and 10Web gather all the information needed to set up a website draft that is already personalized with medical-specific content. Most offer the option to connect to Instagram, Facebook, Google My Business, and similar sites, to which they can import your office’s logo, images, and descriptive texts.

Some of them are capable of pulling up responsive site pages that automatically adjust to the device – mobile or computer – that the visitor is using. This is important, as I’ve written before, because more than half of all searches for doctors are now made on smartphones, so the more “mobile friendly” your site is, the higher it will be ranked. You can test how easily a visitor can use your website on a mobile device with Google’s free Mobile-Friendly Test.

If you give talks at medical meetings, you know how cumbersome and time-consuming it can be to create Powerpoint presentations. Once again, AI can save you time and trouble. Presentation designers such as Presentations.AI, Deck Robot, iA Presenter, and Beautiful.AI can assemble very acceptable presentations from your primary inputs. You typically choose a template, input your basic data, and AI will format the slides and offer you visuals, animations, voice-overs, and other fancy features. You will also have flexibility in changing segments or images or sizes you don’t like.

Dr. Eastern practices dermatology and dermatologic surgery in Belleville, N.J. He is the author of numerous articles and textbook chapters, and is a longtime monthly columnist for Dermatology News. Write to him at dermnews@mdedge.com.

It is difficult to go through any publication or website these days without finding an article about artificial intelligence (AI). Many discuss its current status, while others speculate on potential future applications. Often, AI is described as an “existential threat to human health” by commentators who aren’t even aware of the definition of that term as Kierkegaard conceived it, the role of the individual to breathe meaning into life. Others characterize such cataclysmic predictions as “overblown and misdirected”.

The long-term potential for abuse of AI requires discussion, and should be addressed by policy makers, but that is beyond the scope of this column.

Meanwhile, there are many near-term opportunities for AI to improve health care and reduce tedious and time consuming tasks. Specifically, some AI-based tools are available to use in your office right now, with no “existential” threat to anybody.

The most popular current AI-based medical applications are automated scribes. They transcribe live consultations between physician and patient automatically and create a searchable report, plus notes for charts and billing.

I’ve written about AI scribes before, but the quality and user-friendliness of these products have improved dramatically in recent years. Language processing capabilities now permit you to speak naturally, without having to memorize specific commands. Some scribes can mimic your writing style based on sample notes that you enter into the system. Others allow you to integrate your own knowledge base, or a bibliography of research studies. With some systems, you can dictate notes directly into most EHR software, ask questions regarding medication dosages, or access a patient’s medical history from hospitals or other offices.

Current popular medical scribe products include DeepCura, DeepScribe, Nuance, Suki, Augmedix, Tali AI, Iodine Software, and ScribeLink. Amazon Web Services recently launched its own product, HealthScribe, as well. (As always, I have no financial interest in any product or service mentioned in this column.)

AI scribes aren’t entirely autonomous, of course; you need to read the output and check for potential inaccuracies. Still, users claim that they substantially reduce documentation and charting time, permitting more patient visits and less after-hours work.

AI can also be used to provide useful content for your patients. If you are not particularly good at writing, or don’t have the time for it, generative algorithms like the much-vaunted ChatGPT can generate posts, FAQs, and other informational content for your website, blog, or social media pages. You can ask for ideas about timely health topics and write general information articles, or create content specific to your location or specialty. You can use it to write emails informing your patients about upcoming office events or educate them on a range of topics, from getting their annual flu shots to scheduling regular screening skin exams.

With some of the same techniques and additional software, you can create entire videos for your website at a fraction of the cost of hiring a video production team. After using ChatGPT to write the content – for example, a 5-minute script on the importance of sunscreen in preventing skin cancer – you can employ a text-to-speech algorithm such as Revoicer to transform the script into audio content, and then a preproduction algorithm like Yepic or Synthesia to generate a video with a synthetic human. 

If you are unhappy with your current online presence, you can use AI to create an entire website. Through a series of questions, AI website builders such as Wix ADI, Jimdo, Hostinger, and 10Web gather all the information needed to set up a website draft that is already personalized with medical-specific content. Most offer the option to connect to Instagram, Facebook, Google My Business, and similar sites, to which they can import your office’s logo, images, and descriptive texts.

Some of them are capable of pulling up responsive site pages that automatically adjust to the device – mobile or computer – that the visitor is using. This is important, as I’ve written before, because more than half of all searches for doctors are now made on smartphones, so the more “mobile friendly” your site is, the higher it will be ranked. You can test how easily a visitor can use your website on a mobile device with Google’s free Mobile-Friendly Test.

If you give talks at medical meetings, you know how cumbersome and time-consuming it can be to create Powerpoint presentations. Once again, AI can save you time and trouble. Presentation designers such as Presentations.AI, Deck Robot, iA Presenter, and Beautiful.AI can assemble very acceptable presentations from your primary inputs. You typically choose a template, input your basic data, and AI will format the slides and offer you visuals, animations, voice-overs, and other fancy features. You will also have flexibility in changing segments or images or sizes you don’t like.

Dr. Eastern practices dermatology and dermatologic surgery in Belleville, N.J. He is the author of numerous articles and textbook chapters, and is a longtime monthly columnist for Dermatology News. Write to him at dermnews@mdedge.com.

Recently, my office received several phone calls from patients asking if I perform “trap tox.” Having not been on social media around that time, I assumed the term had something to do with botulinum toxin and the trapezius muscle, but I had never heard it before. Not too long afterwards, patients were asking me about it in the office, using the same terminology, and I had several calls about it in one day. When I asked one trusted patient where she’d heard this term, which seemed to be trending, she told me that she had seen it on Instagram, as an ad or a “suggested for you” post.

Whether it’s a different name or term for a cosmetic procedure or laser we use that I’ve never heard before – such as “lip flip” or trap tox (also known as “Barbie Botox”) – many of these trendy terms spread like wildfire on social media. Some of the terms may be marketing tools started and spread by doctors who perform aesthetic procedures, something I don’t recommend as it only creates confusion for patients and practitioners, similar to the confusion consumers face regarding the plethora of over-the-counter skin care options and the marketing terms used for them. Other terms and trends are also started by nonphysician or non–professionally trained providers, sometimes leading to an unsafe or misleading term for an aesthetic procedure.

Over the past few years, several articles about the impact of social media in aesthetics have been published. In one recent paper, published in 2022, Boen and Jerdan noted that 72% of people in the United States use social media, up from 5% of American adults in 2005. In the United States, they note, “YouTube is the most popular platform with 73% of adult users, followed by Facebook (69%), Instagram (37%), SnapChat (24%), and Twitter (22%). Of the sites used daily, Facebook has the most activity (74%), followed by Instagram (64%), SnapChat (63%), YouTube (51%), and Twitter (42%).” They argue that the pros of social media in aesthetic medicine include its use as an educational tool by medical professionals to educate and provide accurate information about cosmetic procedures, and that “providing factual and evidence-based medical information to the public can help to counteract the abundant misinformation that is out there.” The cons include misinformation, no credentialing verification of the provider of the information – essentially anyone can be an “influencer” – as well as the addictive nature of social media for the consumer.

Along the same lines, younger patients tend to rely more on social media in choosing treatments and providers, further perpetuating any anxiety created from misinformation and unrealistic expectations from nonmedical influencers regarding procedures, filters used on photographs, photo editing, etc., in achieving an aesthetic result.

Physicians, particularly fellowship-trained aesthetic and surgical dermatologists, plastic and reconstructive surgeons, oculoplastic surgeons, and ENT facial plastic surgeons, who have the most training, knowledge, and expertise about aesthetic procedures, often have the least amount of time to devote to education via social media, compared with nonmedical influencers. Unless sponsored, they are also not being compensated for using it as an educational tool, except for potential indirect compensation from using it as a marketing tool for themselves and their practices. In contrast, nonmedical influencers often have many followers and time to create content, and in some cases, this is their full-time job.

All in all, most authors agree that social media has been associated with an increased acceptance of cosmetic surgery and procedures. Whether it be a trend seen on social media, or viewing one’s appearance in a filtered or photoediting app, or seeing an image of how another person looks (similar to how people in magazines, films and on television, were viewed in the past), social media has piqued people’s interest in aesthetics. It remains a balance for interested physicians to help keep information about cosmetic procedures presented in a healthy, interesting, professional, and accurate manner, and in a non–time-consuming way.

Dr. Wesley practices dermatology in Beverly Hills, Calif. Write to her at dermnews@mdedge.com. She had no relevant disclosures.
 

References

Boen M and Jerdan K. Clin Dermatol. 2022 Jan-Feb;40(1):45-8.

Chen J et al. JAMA Facial Plast Surg. 2019 Sep 1;21(5):361-7.

Chopan M et al. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2019 Apr;143(4):1259-65.

Recently, my office received several phone calls from patients asking if I perform “trap tox.” Having not been on social media around that time, I assumed the term had something to do with botulinum toxin and the trapezius muscle, but I had never heard it before. Not too long afterwards, patients were asking me about it in the office, using the same terminology, and I had several calls about it in one day. When I asked one trusted patient where she’d heard this term, which seemed to be trending, she told me that she had seen it on Instagram, as an ad or a “suggested for you” post.

Whether it’s a different name or term for a cosmetic procedure or laser we use that I’ve never heard before – such as “lip flip” or trap tox (also known as “Barbie Botox”) – many of these trendy terms spread like wildfire on social media. Some of the terms may be marketing tools started and spread by doctors who perform aesthetic procedures, something I don’t recommend as it only creates confusion for patients and practitioners, similar to the confusion consumers face regarding the plethora of over-the-counter skin care options and the marketing terms used for them. Other terms and trends are also started by nonphysician or non–professionally trained providers, sometimes leading to an unsafe or misleading term for an aesthetic procedure.

Over the past few years, several articles about the impact of social media in aesthetics have been published. In one recent paper, published in 2022, Boen and Jerdan noted that 72% of people in the United States use social media, up from 5% of American adults in 2005. In the United States, they note, “YouTube is the most popular platform with 73% of adult users, followed by Facebook (69%), Instagram (37%), SnapChat (24%), and Twitter (22%). Of the sites used daily, Facebook has the most activity (74%), followed by Instagram (64%), SnapChat (63%), YouTube (51%), and Twitter (42%).” They argue that the pros of social media in aesthetic medicine include its use as an educational tool by medical professionals to educate and provide accurate information about cosmetic procedures, and that “providing factual and evidence-based medical information to the public can help to counteract the abundant misinformation that is out there.” The cons include misinformation, no credentialing verification of the provider of the information – essentially anyone can be an “influencer” – as well as the addictive nature of social media for the consumer.

Along the same lines, younger patients tend to rely more on social media in choosing treatments and providers, further perpetuating any anxiety created from misinformation and unrealistic expectations from nonmedical influencers regarding procedures, filters used on photographs, photo editing, etc., in achieving an aesthetic result.

Physicians, particularly fellowship-trained aesthetic and surgical dermatologists, plastic and reconstructive surgeons, oculoplastic surgeons, and ENT facial plastic surgeons, who have the most training, knowledge, and expertise about aesthetic procedures, often have the least amount of time to devote to education via social media, compared with nonmedical influencers. Unless sponsored, they are also not being compensated for using it as an educational tool, except for potential indirect compensation from using it as a marketing tool for themselves and their practices. In contrast, nonmedical influencers often have many followers and time to create content, and in some cases, this is their full-time job.

All in all, most authors agree that social media has been associated with an increased acceptance of cosmetic surgery and procedures. Whether it be a trend seen on social media, or viewing one’s appearance in a filtered or photoediting app, or seeing an image of how another person looks (similar to how people in magazines, films and on television, were viewed in the past), social media has piqued people’s interest in aesthetics. It remains a balance for interested physicians to help keep information about cosmetic procedures presented in a healthy, interesting, professional, and accurate manner, and in a non–time-consuming way.

Dr. Wesley practices dermatology in Beverly Hills, Calif. Write to her at dermnews@mdedge.com. She had no relevant disclosures.
 

References

Boen M and Jerdan K. Clin Dermatol. 2022 Jan-Feb;40(1):45-8.

Chen J et al. JAMA Facial Plast Surg. 2019 Sep 1;21(5):361-7.

Chopan M et al. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2019 Apr;143(4):1259-65.

Recently, my office received several phone calls from patients asking if I perform “trap tox.” Having not been on social media around that time, I assumed the term had something to do with botulinum toxin and the trapezius muscle, but I had never heard it before. Not too long afterwards, patients were asking me about it in the office, using the same terminology, and I had several calls about it in one day. When I asked one trusted patient where she’d heard this term, which seemed to be trending, she told me that she had seen it on Instagram, as an ad or a “suggested for you” post.

Whether it’s a different name or term for a cosmetic procedure or laser we use that I’ve never heard before – such as “lip flip” or trap tox (also known as “Barbie Botox”) – many of these trendy terms spread like wildfire on social media. Some of the terms may be marketing tools started and spread by doctors who perform aesthetic procedures, something I don’t recommend as it only creates confusion for patients and practitioners, similar to the confusion consumers face regarding the plethora of over-the-counter skin care options and the marketing terms used for them. Other terms and trends are also started by nonphysician or non–professionally trained providers, sometimes leading to an unsafe or misleading term for an aesthetic procedure.

Over the past few years, several articles about the impact of social media in aesthetics have been published. In one recent paper, published in 2022, Boen and Jerdan noted that 72% of people in the United States use social media, up from 5% of American adults in 2005. In the United States, they note, “YouTube is the most popular platform with 73% of adult users, followed by Facebook (69%), Instagram (37%), SnapChat (24%), and Twitter (22%). Of the sites used daily, Facebook has the most activity (74%), followed by Instagram (64%), SnapChat (63%), YouTube (51%), and Twitter (42%).” They argue that the pros of social media in aesthetic medicine include its use as an educational tool by medical professionals to educate and provide accurate information about cosmetic procedures, and that “providing factual and evidence-based medical information to the public can help to counteract the abundant misinformation that is out there.” The cons include misinformation, no credentialing verification of the provider of the information – essentially anyone can be an “influencer” – as well as the addictive nature of social media for the consumer.

Along the same lines, younger patients tend to rely more on social media in choosing treatments and providers, further perpetuating any anxiety created from misinformation and unrealistic expectations from nonmedical influencers regarding procedures, filters used on photographs, photo editing, etc., in achieving an aesthetic result.

Physicians, particularly fellowship-trained aesthetic and surgical dermatologists, plastic and reconstructive surgeons, oculoplastic surgeons, and ENT facial plastic surgeons, who have the most training, knowledge, and expertise about aesthetic procedures, often have the least amount of time to devote to education via social media, compared with nonmedical influencers. Unless sponsored, they are also not being compensated for using it as an educational tool, except for potential indirect compensation from using it as a marketing tool for themselves and their practices. In contrast, nonmedical influencers often have many followers and time to create content, and in some cases, this is their full-time job.

All in all, most authors agree that social media has been associated with an increased acceptance of cosmetic surgery and procedures. Whether it be a trend seen on social media, or viewing one’s appearance in a filtered or photoediting app, or seeing an image of how another person looks (similar to how people in magazines, films and on television, were viewed in the past), social media has piqued people’s interest in aesthetics. It remains a balance for interested physicians to help keep information about cosmetic procedures presented in a healthy, interesting, professional, and accurate manner, and in a non–time-consuming way.

Dr. Wesley practices dermatology in Beverly Hills, Calif. Write to her at dermnews@mdedge.com. She had no relevant disclosures.
 

References

Boen M and Jerdan K. Clin Dermatol. 2022 Jan-Feb;40(1):45-8.

Chen J et al. JAMA Facial Plast Surg. 2019 Sep 1;21(5):361-7.

Chopan M et al. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2019 Apr;143(4):1259-65.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) may have a role in treating calciphylaxis, with benefits in both mortality and wound healing, report Daniela Kroshinsky, MD, MPH, of the department of dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues.

Although intravenous sodium thiosulfate (IV STS) is considered standard care in the treatment of calciphylaxis, HBOT has been reported to have beneficial effects, they noted.

In their study, the researchers retrospectively reviewed records of 93 patients newly diagnosed with calciphylaxis, seen at Massachusetts General Hospital, between January 2006 and December 2021. They compared mortality and wound healing outcomes for 57 patients treated with IV STS only (control group) with those of 36 patients treated with HBOT plus IV STS (treatment group). Traditional survival analyses and Cox proportional hazard modeling were used to examine mortality data, and mixed effects modeling was used to analyze longitudinal wound outcomes. The study was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Univariate survival analyses showed that HBOT plus IV STS was associated with significantly longer survival time than IV STS alone (P = .016), particularly for those with nonnephrogenic calciphylaxis (P < .0001), they report. An increased number of HBOT sessions conferred improved mortality outcomes, with 1, 5, 10, and 20 sessions yielding decreasing hazard ratios.

There was also a significant positive association between an increasing number of HBOT sessions and increased wound score (P = .042). Increases were seen with each session.

Anxiety/claustrophobia was the most common side effect reported among those in the HBOT group (22%).

“Given the proposed benefits and seemingly low side effect profile, it is the authors’ recommendation that HBOT be offered as an additional intervention to patients with calciphylaxis, especially if they have open wounds, to improve outcomes and expedite wound healing,” the researchers concluded.

Limitations, they noted, included the small sample size, retrospective design, and the potential for not adequately capturing patients who received external care. They were also unable to match patients by disease or wound severity. Large prospective trials would help clarify the role of HBOT for calciphylaxis, they added.

The researchers reported no relevant disclosures.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) may have a role in treating calciphylaxis, with benefits in both mortality and wound healing, report Daniela Kroshinsky, MD, MPH, of the department of dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues.

Although intravenous sodium thiosulfate (IV STS) is considered standard care in the treatment of calciphylaxis, HBOT has been reported to have beneficial effects, they noted.

In their study, the researchers retrospectively reviewed records of 93 patients newly diagnosed with calciphylaxis, seen at Massachusetts General Hospital, between January 2006 and December 2021. They compared mortality and wound healing outcomes for 57 patients treated with IV STS only (control group) with those of 36 patients treated with HBOT plus IV STS (treatment group). Traditional survival analyses and Cox proportional hazard modeling were used to examine mortality data, and mixed effects modeling was used to analyze longitudinal wound outcomes. The study was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Univariate survival analyses showed that HBOT plus IV STS was associated with significantly longer survival time than IV STS alone (P = .016), particularly for those with nonnephrogenic calciphylaxis (P < .0001), they report. An increased number of HBOT sessions conferred improved mortality outcomes, with 1, 5, 10, and 20 sessions yielding decreasing hazard ratios.

There was also a significant positive association between an increasing number of HBOT sessions and increased wound score (P = .042). Increases were seen with each session.

Anxiety/claustrophobia was the most common side effect reported among those in the HBOT group (22%).

“Given the proposed benefits and seemingly low side effect profile, it is the authors’ recommendation that HBOT be offered as an additional intervention to patients with calciphylaxis, especially if they have open wounds, to improve outcomes and expedite wound healing,” the researchers concluded.

Limitations, they noted, included the small sample size, retrospective design, and the potential for not adequately capturing patients who received external care. They were also unable to match patients by disease or wound severity. Large prospective trials would help clarify the role of HBOT for calciphylaxis, they added.

The researchers reported no relevant disclosures.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) may have a role in treating calciphylaxis, with benefits in both mortality and wound healing, report Daniela Kroshinsky, MD, MPH, of the department of dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues.

Although intravenous sodium thiosulfate (IV STS) is considered standard care in the treatment of calciphylaxis, HBOT has been reported to have beneficial effects, they noted.

In their study, the researchers retrospectively reviewed records of 93 patients newly diagnosed with calciphylaxis, seen at Massachusetts General Hospital, between January 2006 and December 2021. They compared mortality and wound healing outcomes for 57 patients treated with IV STS only (control group) with those of 36 patients treated with HBOT plus IV STS (treatment group). Traditional survival analyses and Cox proportional hazard modeling were used to examine mortality data, and mixed effects modeling was used to analyze longitudinal wound outcomes. The study was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Univariate survival analyses showed that HBOT plus IV STS was associated with significantly longer survival time than IV STS alone (P = .016), particularly for those with nonnephrogenic calciphylaxis (P < .0001), they report. An increased number of HBOT sessions conferred improved mortality outcomes, with 1, 5, 10, and 20 sessions yielding decreasing hazard ratios.

There was also a significant positive association between an increasing number of HBOT sessions and increased wound score (P = .042). Increases were seen with each session.

Anxiety/claustrophobia was the most common side effect reported among those in the HBOT group (22%).

“Given the proposed benefits and seemingly low side effect profile, it is the authors’ recommendation that HBOT be offered as an additional intervention to patients with calciphylaxis, especially if they have open wounds, to improve outcomes and expedite wound healing,” the researchers concluded.

Limitations, they noted, included the small sample size, retrospective design, and the potential for not adequately capturing patients who received external care. They were also unable to match patients by disease or wound severity. Large prospective trials would help clarify the role of HBOT for calciphylaxis, they added.

The researchers reported no relevant disclosures.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

Patients with cutaneous Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) have a higher risk of subsequently developing solid and hematologic cancers, according to a new analysis.

In a cohort of 6,146 patients with a first primary MCC, a total of 725 (11.8%) developed subsequent primary cancers. For solid tumors, the risk was highest for cutaneous melanoma and papillary thyroid carcinoma, while for hematologic cancers, the risk was increased for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

“Our study does confirm that patients with MCC are at higher risk for developing other cancers,” study author Lisa C. Zaba, MD, PhD, associate professor of dermatology and director of the Merkel cell carcinoma multidisciplinary clinic, Stanford (Calif.) Cancer Center, said in an interview. “MCC is a highly malignant cancer with a 40% recurrence risk.”

Because of this high risk, Dr. Zaba noted that patients with MCC get frequent surveillance with both imaging studies (PET-CT and CT) as well as frequent visits in clinic with MCC experts. “Specifically, a patient with MCC is imaged and seen in clinic every 3-6 months for the first 3 years after diagnosis, and every 6-12 months thereafter for up to 5 years,” she said. “Interestingly, this high level of surveillance may be one reason that we find so many cancers in patients who have been diagnosed with MCC, compared to the general population.”

The study was published online in JAMA Dermatology.

With the death of “Margaritaville” singer Jimmy Buffett, who recently died of MCC 4 years after his diagnosis, this rare, aggressive skin cancer has been put in the spotlight. Survival has been increasing, primarily because of the advent of immunotherapy, and the authors note that it is therefore imperative to better understand the risk of subsequent primary tumors to inform screening and treatment recommendations.

In this cohort study, Dr. Zaba and colleagues identified 6,146 patients from 17 registries of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program who had been diagnosed with a first primary cutaneous MCC between 2000 and 2018.

Endpoints were the ratio of observed to expected number of cases of subsequent cancer (Standardized incidence ratio, or SIR) and the excess risk.

Overall, there was an elevated risk of developing a subsequent primary cancer after being diagnosed with MCC (SIR, 1.28; excess risk, 57.25 per 10,000 person-years). This included the risk for all solid tumors including liver (SIR, 1.92; excess risk, 2.77 per 10,000 person-years), pancreas (SIR, 1.65; excess risk, 4.55 per 10,000 person-years), cutaneous melanoma (SIR, 2.36; excess risk, 15.27 per 10,000 person-years), and kidney (SIR, 1.64; excess risk, 3.83 per 10,000 person-years).

There was also a higher risk of developing papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) (SIR, 5.26; excess risk, 6.16 per 10,000 person-years).

The risk of developing hematological cancers after MCC was also increased, especially for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (SIR, 2.62; excess risk, 15.48 per 10,000 person-years) and myelodysplastic syndrome (SIR, 2.17; excess risk, 2.73 per 10,000 person-years).

The risk for developing subsequent tumors, including melanoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, remained significant for up to 10 years, while the risk for developing PTC and kidney cancers remained for up to 5 years.

“After 3-5 years, when a MCC patient’s risk of MCC recurrence drops below 2%, we do not currently have guidelines in place for additional cancer screening,” Dr. Zaba said. “Regarding patient education, patients with MCC are educated to let us know if they experience any symptoms of cancer between visits, including unintentional weight loss, night sweats, headaches that increasingly worsen, or growing lumps or bumps. These symptoms may occur in a multitude of cancers and not just MCC.”

Weighing in on the study, Jeffrey M. Farma, MD, interim chair, department of surgical oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, noted that MCC is considered to be high risk because of its chances of recurring after surgical resection or spreading to lymph nodes or other areas of the body. “There are approximately 3,000 new cases of melanoma a year in the U.S., and it is 40 times rarer than melanoma,” he said. “Patients are usually diagnosed with Merkel cell carcinoma later in life, and the tumors have been associated with sun exposure and immunosuppression and have also been associated with the polyomavirus.”

That said, however, he emphasized that great strides have been made in treatment. “These tumors are very sensitive to radiation, and we generally treat earlier-stage MCC with a combination of surgery and radiation therapy,” said Dr. Farma. “More recently we have had a lot of success with the use of immunotherapy to treat more advanced MCC.”

Dr. Zaba reported receiving grants from the Kuni Foundation outside the submitted work. No other disclosures were reported. Author Eleni Linos, MD, DrPH, MPH, is supported by grant K24AR075060 from the National Institutes of Health. No other outside funding was reported. Dr. Farma had no disclosures.

Patients with cutaneous Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) have a higher risk of subsequently developing solid and hematologic cancers, according to a new analysis.

In a cohort of 6,146 patients with a first primary MCC, a total of 725 (11.8%) developed subsequent primary cancers. For solid tumors, the risk was highest for cutaneous melanoma and papillary thyroid carcinoma, while for hematologic cancers, the risk was increased for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

“Our study does confirm that patients with MCC are at higher risk for developing other cancers,” study author Lisa C. Zaba, MD, PhD, associate professor of dermatology and director of the Merkel cell carcinoma multidisciplinary clinic, Stanford (Calif.) Cancer Center, said in an interview. “MCC is a highly malignant cancer with a 40% recurrence risk.”

Because of this high risk, Dr. Zaba noted that patients with MCC get frequent surveillance with both imaging studies (PET-CT and CT) as well as frequent visits in clinic with MCC experts. “Specifically, a patient with MCC is imaged and seen in clinic every 3-6 months for the first 3 years after diagnosis, and every 6-12 months thereafter for up to 5 years,” she said. “Interestingly, this high level of surveillance may be one reason that we find so many cancers in patients who have been diagnosed with MCC, compared to the general population.”

The study was published online in JAMA Dermatology.

With the death of “Margaritaville” singer Jimmy Buffett, who recently died of MCC 4 years after his diagnosis, this rare, aggressive skin cancer has been put in the spotlight. Survival has been increasing, primarily because of the advent of immunotherapy, and the authors note that it is therefore imperative to better understand the risk of subsequent primary tumors to inform screening and treatment recommendations.

In this cohort study, Dr. Zaba and colleagues identified 6,146 patients from 17 registries of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program who had been diagnosed with a first primary cutaneous MCC between 2000 and 2018.

Endpoints were the ratio of observed to expected number of cases of subsequent cancer (Standardized incidence ratio, or SIR) and the excess risk.

Overall, there was an elevated risk of developing a subsequent primary cancer after being diagnosed with MCC (SIR, 1.28; excess risk, 57.25 per 10,000 person-years). This included the risk for all solid tumors including liver (SIR, 1.92; excess risk, 2.77 per 10,000 person-years), pancreas (SIR, 1.65; excess risk, 4.55 per 10,000 person-years), cutaneous melanoma (SIR, 2.36; excess risk, 15.27 per 10,000 person-years), and kidney (SIR, 1.64; excess risk, 3.83 per 10,000 person-years).

There was also a higher risk of developing papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) (SIR, 5.26; excess risk, 6.16 per 10,000 person-years).

The risk of developing hematological cancers after MCC was also increased, especially for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (SIR, 2.62; excess risk, 15.48 per 10,000 person-years) and myelodysplastic syndrome (SIR, 2.17; excess risk, 2.73 per 10,000 person-years).

The risk for developing subsequent tumors, including melanoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, remained significant for up to 10 years, while the risk for developing PTC and kidney cancers remained for up to 5 years.

“After 3-5 years, when a MCC patient’s risk of MCC recurrence drops below 2%, we do not currently have guidelines in place for additional cancer screening,” Dr. Zaba said. “Regarding patient education, patients with MCC are educated to let us know if they experience any symptoms of cancer between visits, including unintentional weight loss, night sweats, headaches that increasingly worsen, or growing lumps or bumps. These symptoms may occur in a multitude of cancers and not just MCC.”

Weighing in on the study, Jeffrey M. Farma, MD, interim chair, department of surgical oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, noted that MCC is considered to be high risk because of its chances of recurring after surgical resection or spreading to lymph nodes or other areas of the body. “There are approximately 3,000 new cases of melanoma a year in the U.S., and it is 40 times rarer than melanoma,” he said. “Patients are usually diagnosed with Merkel cell carcinoma later in life, and the tumors have been associated with sun exposure and immunosuppression and have also been associated with the polyomavirus.”

That said, however, he emphasized that great strides have been made in treatment. “These tumors are very sensitive to radiation, and we generally treat earlier-stage MCC with a combination of surgery and radiation therapy,” said Dr. Farma. “More recently we have had a lot of success with the use of immunotherapy to treat more advanced MCC.”

Dr. Zaba reported receiving grants from the Kuni Foundation outside the submitted work. No other disclosures were reported. Author Eleni Linos, MD, DrPH, MPH, is supported by grant K24AR075060 from the National Institutes of Health. No other outside funding was reported. Dr. Farma had no disclosures.

Patients with cutaneous Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) have a higher risk of subsequently developing solid and hematologic cancers, according to a new analysis.

In a cohort of 6,146 patients with a first primary MCC, a total of 725 (11.8%) developed subsequent primary cancers. For solid tumors, the risk was highest for cutaneous melanoma and papillary thyroid carcinoma, while for hematologic cancers, the risk was increased for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

“Our study does confirm that patients with MCC are at higher risk for developing other cancers,” study author Lisa C. Zaba, MD, PhD, associate professor of dermatology and director of the Merkel cell carcinoma multidisciplinary clinic, Stanford (Calif.) Cancer Center, said in an interview. “MCC is a highly malignant cancer with a 40% recurrence risk.”

Because of this high risk, Dr. Zaba noted that patients with MCC get frequent surveillance with both imaging studies (PET-CT and CT) as well as frequent visits in clinic with MCC experts. “Specifically, a patient with MCC is imaged and seen in clinic every 3-6 months for the first 3 years after diagnosis, and every 6-12 months thereafter for up to 5 years,” she said. “Interestingly, this high level of surveillance may be one reason that we find so many cancers in patients who have been diagnosed with MCC, compared to the general population.”

The study was published online in JAMA Dermatology.

With the death of “Margaritaville” singer Jimmy Buffett, who recently died of MCC 4 years after his diagnosis, this rare, aggressive skin cancer has been put in the spotlight. Survival has been increasing, primarily because of the advent of immunotherapy, and the authors note that it is therefore imperative to better understand the risk of subsequent primary tumors to inform screening and treatment recommendations.

In this cohort study, Dr. Zaba and colleagues identified 6,146 patients from 17 registries of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program who had been diagnosed with a first primary cutaneous MCC between 2000 and 2018.

Endpoints were the ratio of observed to expected number of cases of subsequent cancer (Standardized incidence ratio, or SIR) and the excess risk.

Overall, there was an elevated risk of developing a subsequent primary cancer after being diagnosed with MCC (SIR, 1.28; excess risk, 57.25 per 10,000 person-years). This included the risk for all solid tumors including liver (SIR, 1.92; excess risk, 2.77 per 10,000 person-years), pancreas (SIR, 1.65; excess risk, 4.55 per 10,000 person-years), cutaneous melanoma (SIR, 2.36; excess risk, 15.27 per 10,000 person-years), and kidney (SIR, 1.64; excess risk, 3.83 per 10,000 person-years).

There was also a higher risk of developing papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) (SIR, 5.26; excess risk, 6.16 per 10,000 person-years).

The risk of developing hematological cancers after MCC was also increased, especially for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (SIR, 2.62; excess risk, 15.48 per 10,000 person-years) and myelodysplastic syndrome (SIR, 2.17; excess risk, 2.73 per 10,000 person-years).

The risk for developing subsequent tumors, including melanoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, remained significant for up to 10 years, while the risk for developing PTC and kidney cancers remained for up to 5 years.

“After 3-5 years, when a MCC patient’s risk of MCC recurrence drops below 2%, we do not currently have guidelines in place for additional cancer screening,” Dr. Zaba said. “Regarding patient education, patients with MCC are educated to let us know if they experience any symptoms of cancer between visits, including unintentional weight loss, night sweats, headaches that increasingly worsen, or growing lumps or bumps. These symptoms may occur in a multitude of cancers and not just MCC.”

Weighing in on the study, Jeffrey M. Farma, MD, interim chair, department of surgical oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, noted that MCC is considered to be high risk because of its chances of recurring after surgical resection or spreading to lymph nodes or other areas of the body. “There are approximately 3,000 new cases of melanoma a year in the U.S., and it is 40 times rarer than melanoma,” he said. “Patients are usually diagnosed with Merkel cell carcinoma later in life, and the tumors have been associated with sun exposure and immunosuppression and have also been associated with the polyomavirus.”

That said, however, he emphasized that great strides have been made in treatment. “These tumors are very sensitive to radiation, and we generally treat earlier-stage MCC with a combination of surgery and radiation therapy,” said Dr. Farma. “More recently we have had a lot of success with the use of immunotherapy to treat more advanced MCC.”

Dr. Zaba reported receiving grants from the Kuni Foundation outside the submitted work. No other disclosures were reported. Author Eleni Linos, MD, DrPH, MPH, is supported by grant K24AR075060 from the National Institutes of Health. No other outside funding was reported. Dr. Farma had no disclosures.

A physician in your office is hot-tempered, critical, and upsets both the physicians and staff. Two of your partners are arguing over a software vendor and refuse to compromise. One doctor’s spouse is the office manager and snipes at everyone; the lead partner micromanages and second-guesses other doctors’ treatment plans, and no one will stand up to her.

If your practice has similar scenarios, you’re likely dealing with your own anger, irritation, and dread at work. You’re struggling with a toxic practice atmosphere, and you must make changes – fast.

However, this isn’t easy, given that what goes on in a doctor’s office is “high consequence,” says Leonard J. Marcus, PhD, founding director of the program for health care negotiation and conflict resolution at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

The two things that tend to plague medical practices most: A culture of fear and someone who is letting ego run the day-to-day, he says.

“Fear overwhelms any chance for good morale among colleagues,” says Dr. Marcus, who is also the coauthor of “Renegotiating Health Care: Resolving Conflict to Build Collaboration.” “In a work environment where the fear is overwhelming, the ego can take over, and someone at the practice becomes overly concerned about getting credit, taking control, ordering other people around, and deciding who is on top and who is on the bottom.”

Tension, stress, back-biting, and rudeness are also symptoms of a more significant problem, says Jes Montgomery, MD, a psychiatrist and medical director of APN Dallas, a mental health–focused practice.

“If you don’t get toxicity under control, it will blow the office apart,” Dr. Montgomery says.

Here are five tips to turn around a toxic practice culture.
 

1. Recognize the signs

Part of the problem with a toxic medical practice is that, culturally, we don’t treat mental health and burnout as real illnesses. “A physician who is depressed is not going to be melancholy or bursting into tears with patients,” Dr. Montgomery says. “They’ll get behind on paperwork, skip meals, or find that it’s difficult to sleep at night. Next, they’ll yell at the partners and staff, always be in a foul mood, and gripe about inconsequential things. Their behavior affects everyone.”

Dr. Montgomery says that physicians aren’t taught to ask for help, making it difficult to see what’s really going on when someone displays toxic behavior in the practice. If it’s a partner, take time to ask what’s going on. If it’s yourself, step back and see if you can ask someone for the help you need.
 

2. Have difficult conversations

This is tough for most of us, says Jeremy Pollack, PhD, CEO and founder of Pollack Peacebuilding Systems, a conflict resolution consulting firm. If a team member is hot-tempered, disrespectful, or talking to patients in an unproductive manner, see if you can have an effective conversation with that person. The tricky part is critiquing in a way that doesn’t make them feel defensive – and wanting to push back.

For a micromanaging office manager, for example, you could say something like,”You’re doing a great job with the inventory, but I need you to let the staff have some autonomy and not hover over every supply they use in the break room, so that people won’t feel resentful toward us.” Make it clear you’re a team, and this is a team challenge. “However, if a doctor feels like they’ve tried to communicate to that colleague and are still walking on eggshells, it’s time to try to get help from someone – perhaps a practice management organization,” says Dr. Pollack.
 

3. Open lines of communication

It’s critical to create a comfortable space to speak with your colleagues, says Marisa Garshick, MD, a dermatologist in private practice in New York. “Creating an environment where there is an open line of communication, whether it’s directly to somebody in charge or having a system where you can give feedback more privately or anonymously, is important so that tension doesn’t build.”

“Being a doctor is a social enterprise,” Dr. Marcus says. “The science of medicine is critically important, but patients and the other health care workers on your team are also critically important. In the long run, the most successful physicians pay attention to both. It’s a full package.”
 

4. Emphasize the positive

Instead of discussing things only when they go wrong, try optimism, Dr. Garshick said. When positive things happen, whether it’s an excellent patient encounter or the office did something really well together, highlight it so everyone has a sense of accomplishment. If a patient compliments a medical assistant or raves about a nurse, share those compliments with the employees so that not every encounter you have calls out problems and staff missteps.

Suppose partners have a conflict with one another or are arguing over something. In that case, you may need to mediate or invest in a meaningful intervention so people can reflect on the narrative they’re contributing to the culture.
 

5. Practice self-care

Finally, the work of a physician is exhausting, so it’s crucial to practice personal TLC. That may mean taking micro breaks, getting adequate sleep, maintaining a healthy diet, and exercising well and managing stress to maintain energy levels and patience.

“Sometimes, when I’m fed up with the office, I need to get away,” Dr. Montgomery says. “I’ll take a day to go fishing, golfing, and not think about the office.” Just a small break can shift the lens that you see through when you return to the office and put problems in perspective.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

A physician in your office is hot-tempered, critical, and upsets both the physicians and staff. Two of your partners are arguing over a software vendor and refuse to compromise. One doctor’s spouse is the office manager and snipes at everyone; the lead partner micromanages and second-guesses other doctors’ treatment plans, and no one will stand up to her.

If your practice has similar scenarios, you’re likely dealing with your own anger, irritation, and dread at work. You’re struggling with a toxic practice atmosphere, and you must make changes – fast.

However, this isn’t easy, given that what goes on in a doctor’s office is “high consequence,” says Leonard J. Marcus, PhD, founding director of the program for health care negotiation and conflict resolution at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

The two things that tend to plague medical practices most: A culture of fear and someone who is letting ego run the day-to-day, he says.

“Fear overwhelms any chance for good morale among colleagues,” says Dr. Marcus, who is also the coauthor of “Renegotiating Health Care: Resolving Conflict to Build Collaboration.” “In a work environment where the fear is overwhelming, the ego can take over, and someone at the practice becomes overly concerned about getting credit, taking control, ordering other people around, and deciding who is on top and who is on the bottom.”

Tension, stress, back-biting, and rudeness are also symptoms of a more significant problem, says Jes Montgomery, MD, a psychiatrist and medical director of APN Dallas, a mental health–focused practice.

“If you don’t get toxicity under control, it will blow the office apart,” Dr. Montgomery says.

Here are five tips to turn around a toxic practice culture.
 

1. Recognize the signs

Part of the problem with a toxic medical practice is that, culturally, we don’t treat mental health and burnout as real illnesses. “A physician who is depressed is not going to be melancholy or bursting into tears with patients,” Dr. Montgomery says. “They’ll get behind on paperwork, skip meals, or find that it’s difficult to sleep at night. Next, they’ll yell at the partners and staff, always be in a foul mood, and gripe about inconsequential things. Their behavior affects everyone.”

Dr. Montgomery says that physicians aren’t taught to ask for help, making it difficult to see what’s really going on when someone displays toxic behavior in the practice. If it’s a partner, take time to ask what’s going on. If it’s yourself, step back and see if you can ask someone for the help you need.
 

2. Have difficult conversations

This is tough for most of us, says Jeremy Pollack, PhD, CEO and founder of Pollack Peacebuilding Systems, a conflict resolution consulting firm. If a team member is hot-tempered, disrespectful, or talking to patients in an unproductive manner, see if you can have an effective conversation with that person. The tricky part is critiquing in a way that doesn’t make them feel defensive – and wanting to push back.

For a micromanaging office manager, for example, you could say something like,”You’re doing a great job with the inventory, but I need you to let the staff have some autonomy and not hover over every supply they use in the break room, so that people won’t feel resentful toward us.” Make it clear you’re a team, and this is a team challenge. “However, if a doctor feels like they’ve tried to communicate to that colleague and are still walking on eggshells, it’s time to try to get help from someone – perhaps a practice management organization,” says Dr. Pollack.
 

3. Open lines of communication

It’s critical to create a comfortable space to speak with your colleagues, says Marisa Garshick, MD, a dermatologist in private practice in New York. “Creating an environment where there is an open line of communication, whether it’s directly to somebody in charge or having a system where you can give feedback more privately or anonymously, is important so that tension doesn’t build.”

“Being a doctor is a social enterprise,” Dr. Marcus says. “The science of medicine is critically important, but patients and the other health care workers on your team are also critically important. In the long run, the most successful physicians pay attention to both. It’s a full package.”
 

4. Emphasize the positive

Instead of discussing things only when they go wrong, try optimism, Dr. Garshick said. When positive things happen, whether it’s an excellent patient encounter or the office did something really well together, highlight it so everyone has a sense of accomplishment. If a patient compliments a medical assistant or raves about a nurse, share those compliments with the employees so that not every encounter you have calls out problems and staff missteps.

Suppose partners have a conflict with one another or are arguing over something. In that case, you may need to mediate or invest in a meaningful intervention so people can reflect on the narrative they’re contributing to the culture.
 

5. Practice self-care

Finally, the work of a physician is exhausting, so it’s crucial to practice personal TLC. That may mean taking micro breaks, getting adequate sleep, maintaining a healthy diet, and exercising well and managing stress to maintain energy levels and patience.

“Sometimes, when I’m fed up with the office, I need to get away,” Dr. Montgomery says. “I’ll take a day to go fishing, golfing, and not think about the office.” Just a small break can shift the lens that you see through when you return to the office and put problems in perspective.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

A physician in your office is hot-tempered, critical, and upsets both the physicians and staff. Two of your partners are arguing over a software vendor and refuse to compromise. One doctor’s spouse is the office manager and snipes at everyone; the lead partner micromanages and second-guesses other doctors’ treatment plans, and no one will stand up to her.

If your practice has similar scenarios, you’re likely dealing with your own anger, irritation, and dread at work. You’re struggling with a toxic practice atmosphere, and you must make changes – fast.

However, this isn’t easy, given that what goes on in a doctor’s office is “high consequence,” says Leonard J. Marcus, PhD, founding director of the program for health care negotiation and conflict resolution at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

The two things that tend to plague medical practices most: A culture of fear and someone who is letting ego run the day-to-day, he says.

“Fear overwhelms any chance for good morale among colleagues,” says Dr. Marcus, who is also the coauthor of “Renegotiating Health Care: Resolving Conflict to Build Collaboration.” “In a work environment where the fear is overwhelming, the ego can take over, and someone at the practice becomes overly concerned about getting credit, taking control, ordering other people around, and deciding who is on top and who is on the bottom.”

Tension, stress, back-biting, and rudeness are also symptoms of a more significant problem, says Jes Montgomery, MD, a psychiatrist and medical director of APN Dallas, a mental health–focused practice.

“If you don’t get toxicity under control, it will blow the office apart,” Dr. Montgomery says.

Here are five tips to turn around a toxic practice culture.
 

1. Recognize the signs

Part of the problem with a toxic medical practice is that, culturally, we don’t treat mental health and burnout as real illnesses. “A physician who is depressed is not going to be melancholy or bursting into tears with patients,” Dr. Montgomery says. “They’ll get behind on paperwork, skip meals, or find that it’s difficult to sleep at night. Next, they’ll yell at the partners and staff, always be in a foul mood, and gripe about inconsequential things. Their behavior affects everyone.”

Dr. Montgomery says that physicians aren’t taught to ask for help, making it difficult to see what’s really going on when someone displays toxic behavior in the practice. If it’s a partner, take time to ask what’s going on. If it’s yourself, step back and see if you can ask someone for the help you need.
 

2. Have difficult conversations

This is tough for most of us, says Jeremy Pollack, PhD, CEO and founder of Pollack Peacebuilding Systems, a conflict resolution consulting firm. If a team member is hot-tempered, disrespectful, or talking to patients in an unproductive manner, see if you can have an effective conversation with that person. The tricky part is critiquing in a way that doesn’t make them feel defensive – and wanting to push back.

For a micromanaging office manager, for example, you could say something like,”You’re doing a great job with the inventory, but I need you to let the staff have some autonomy and not hover over every supply they use in the break room, so that people won’t feel resentful toward us.” Make it clear you’re a team, and this is a team challenge. “However, if a doctor feels like they’ve tried to communicate to that colleague and are still walking on eggshells, it’s time to try to get help from someone – perhaps a practice management organization,” says Dr. Pollack.
 

3. Open lines of communication

It’s critical to create a comfortable space to speak with your colleagues, says Marisa Garshick, MD, a dermatologist in private practice in New York. “Creating an environment where there is an open line of communication, whether it’s directly to somebody in charge or having a system where you can give feedback more privately or anonymously, is important so that tension doesn’t build.”

“Being a doctor is a social enterprise,” Dr. Marcus says. “The science of medicine is critically important, but patients and the other health care workers on your team are also critically important. In the long run, the most successful physicians pay attention to both. It’s a full package.”
 

4. Emphasize the positive

Instead of discussing things only when they go wrong, try optimism, Dr. Garshick said. When positive things happen, whether it’s an excellent patient encounter or the office did something really well together, highlight it so everyone has a sense of accomplishment. If a patient compliments a medical assistant or raves about a nurse, share those compliments with the employees so that not every encounter you have calls out problems and staff missteps.

Suppose partners have a conflict with one another or are arguing over something. In that case, you may need to mediate or invest in a meaningful intervention so people can reflect on the narrative they’re contributing to the culture.
 

5. Practice self-care

Finally, the work of a physician is exhausting, so it’s crucial to practice personal TLC. That may mean taking micro breaks, getting adequate sleep, maintaining a healthy diet, and exercising well and managing stress to maintain energy levels and patience.

“Sometimes, when I’m fed up with the office, I need to get away,” Dr. Montgomery says. “I’ll take a day to go fishing, golfing, and not think about the office.” Just a small break can shift the lens that you see through when you return to the office and put problems in perspective.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

SINGAPORE – Can the prolonged use of skin-lightening products, such as hydroquinone, lead to skin cancer?

This question was posed by Ousmane Faye, MD, PhD, director general of Mali’s Bamako Dermatology Hospital, at the World Congress of Dermatology. 

Dr. Faye explored the issue during a hot topics session at the meeting, prefacing that it was an important question to ask because “in West Africa, skin bleaching is very common.”

“There are many local names” for skin bleaching, he said. “For example, in Senegal, it’s called xessal; in Mali and Ivory Coast, its name is caco; in South Africa, there are many names, like ukutsheyisa.”

Skin bleaching refers to the cosmetic misuse of topical agents to change one’s natural skin color. It’s a centuries-old practice that people, mainly women, adopt “to increase attractiveness and self-esteem,” explained Dr. Faye.

To demonstrate how pervasive skin bleaching is on the continent, he presented a slide that summarized figures from six studies spanning the past 2 decades. Prevalence ranged from 25% in Mali (based on a 1993 survey of 210 women) to a high of 79.25% in Benin (from a sample size of 511 women in 2019). In other studies of women in Burkina Faso and Togo, the figures were 44.3% and 58.9%, respectively. The most recently conducted study, which involved 2,689 Senegalese women and was published in 2022, found that nearly 6 in 10 (59.2%) respondents used skin-lightening products.

But skin bleaching isn’t just limited to Africa, said session moderator Omar Lupi, MD, PhD, associate professor of dermatology at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, when approached for an independent comment. “It’s a traditional practice around the world. Maybe not in the developed countries, but it’s quite common in Africa, in South America, and in Asia.”

His sentiments are echoed in a meta-analysis that was published in the International Journal of Dermatology in 2019. The work examined 68 studies involving more than 67,000 people across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. It found that the pooled lifetime prevalence of skin bleaching was 27.7% (95% confidence interval, 19.6-37.5; P < .01).

“This is an important and interesting topic because our world is shrinking,” Dr. Lupi told this news organization. “Even in countries that don’t have bleaching as a common situation, we now have patients who are migrating from one part [of the world] to another, so bleaching is something that can knock on your door and you need to be prepared.”

Misuse leads to complications

The issue is pertinent to dermatologists because skin bleaching is associated with a wide range of complications. Take, for example, topical steroids, which are the most common products used for bleaching, said Dr. Faye in his talk. 

“Clobetasol can suppress the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) function,” he said, referring to the body’s main stress response system. “It can also foster skin infection, including bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic infection.”

In addition, topical steroids that are misused as skin lighteners have been reported to cause stretch marks, skin atrophy, inflammatory acne, and even metabolic disorders such as diabetes and hypertension, said Dr. Faye.

To further his point, he cited a 2021 prospective case-control study conducted across five sub-Saharan countries, which found that the use of “voluntary cosmetic depigmentation” significantly increased a person’s risk for necrotizing fasciitis of the lower limbs (odds ratio, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.19-3.73; P = .0226).

Similarly, mercury, another substance found in products commonly used to bleach skin, has been associated with problems ranging from rashes to renal toxicity. And because it’s so incredibly harmful, mercury is also known to cause neurologic abnormalities. 

Apart from causing certain conditions, prolonged use of skin-lightening products can change the way existing diseases present themselves as well as their severity, added Dr. Faye. 
 

An increased risk

But what about skin bleaching’s link with cancer? “Skin cancer on Black skin is uncommon, yet it occurs in skin-bleaching women,” said Dr. Faye.

“Since 2000, we have had some cases of skin cancer associated with skin bleaching,” he continued, adding that squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most frequent type of cancer observed. 

If you look at what’s been published on the topic so far, you’ll see that “all the cases of skin cancer are located over the neck or some exposed area when skin bleaching products are used for more than 10 years,” said Dr. Faye. “And most of the time, the age of the patient ranges from 30 to 60 years.”

The first known case in Africa was reported in a 58-year-old woman from Ghana, who had been using skin bleaching products for close to 30 years. The patient presented with tumors on her face, neck, and arms.

Dr. Faye then proceeded to share more than 10 such carcinoma cases. “These previous reports strongly suggest a relationship between skin bleaching and skin cancers,” said Dr. Faye.

Indeed, there have been reports and publications in the literature that support his observation, including one last year, which found that use of the tyrosinase inhibitor hydroquinone was associated with approximately a threefold increased risk for skin cancer.

For some, including Brazil’s Dr. Lupi, Dr. Faye’s talk was enlightening: “I didn’t know about this relationship [of bleaching] with skin cancer, it was something new for me.”

But the prevalence of SCC is very low, compared with that of skin bleaching, Dr. Faye acknowledged. Moreover, the cancer observed in the cases reported could have resulted from a number of reasons, including exposure to harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun and genetic predisposition in addition to the use of bleaching products such as hydroquinone. “Other causes of skin cancer are not excluded,” he said.

To further explore the link between skin bleaching and cancer, “we need case-control studies to provide more evidence,” he added. Until then, dermatologists “should keep on promoting messages” to prevent SCC from occurring. This includes encouraging the use of proper sun protection in addition to discouraging the practice of skin bleaching, which still persists despite more than 10 African nations banning the use of toxic skin-lightening products.

Dr. Faye and Dr. Lupi report no relevant financial relationships.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

SINGAPORE – Can the prolonged use of skin-lightening products, such as hydroquinone, lead to skin cancer?

This question was posed by Ousmane Faye, MD, PhD, director general of Mali’s Bamako Dermatology Hospital, at the World Congress of Dermatology. 

Dr. Faye explored the issue during a hot topics session at the meeting, prefacing that it was an important question to ask because “in West Africa, skin bleaching is very common.”

“There are many local names” for skin bleaching, he said. “For example, in Senegal, it’s called xessal; in Mali and Ivory Coast, its name is caco; in South Africa, there are many names, like ukutsheyisa.”

Skin bleaching refers to the cosmetic misuse of topical agents to change one’s natural skin color. It’s a centuries-old practice that people, mainly women, adopt “to increase attractiveness and self-esteem,” explained Dr. Faye.

To demonstrate how pervasive skin bleaching is on the continent, he presented a slide that summarized figures from six studies spanning the past 2 decades. Prevalence ranged from 25% in Mali (based on a 1993 survey of 210 women) to a high of 79.25% in Benin (from a sample size of 511 women in 2019). In other studies of women in Burkina Faso and Togo, the figures were 44.3% and 58.9%, respectively. The most recently conducted study, which involved 2,689 Senegalese women and was published in 2022, found that nearly 6 in 10 (59.2%) respondents used skin-lightening products.

But skin bleaching isn’t just limited to Africa, said session moderator Omar Lupi, MD, PhD, associate professor of dermatology at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, when approached for an independent comment. “It’s a traditional practice around the world. Maybe not in the developed countries, but it’s quite common in Africa, in South America, and in Asia.”

His sentiments are echoed in a meta-analysis that was published in the International Journal of Dermatology in 2019. The work examined 68 studies involving more than 67,000 people across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. It found that the pooled lifetime prevalence of skin bleaching was 27.7% (95% confidence interval, 19.6-37.5; P < .01).

“This is an important and interesting topic because our world is shrinking,” Dr. Lupi told this news organization. “Even in countries that don’t have bleaching as a common situation, we now have patients who are migrating from one part [of the world] to another, so bleaching is something that can knock on your door and you need to be prepared.”

Misuse leads to complications

The issue is pertinent to dermatologists because skin bleaching is associated with a wide range of complications. Take, for example, topical steroids, which are the most common products used for bleaching, said Dr. Faye in his talk. 

“Clobetasol can suppress the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) function,” he said, referring to the body’s main stress response system. “It can also foster skin infection, including bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic infection.”

In addition, topical steroids that are misused as skin lighteners have been reported to cause stretch marks, skin atrophy, inflammatory acne, and even metabolic disorders such as diabetes and hypertension, said Dr. Faye.

To further his point, he cited a 2021 prospective case-control study conducted across five sub-Saharan countries, which found that the use of “voluntary cosmetic depigmentation” significantly increased a person’s risk for necrotizing fasciitis of the lower limbs (odds ratio, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.19-3.73; P = .0226).

Similarly, mercury, another substance found in products commonly used to bleach skin, has been associated with problems ranging from rashes to renal toxicity. And because it’s so incredibly harmful, mercury is also known to cause neurologic abnormalities. 

Apart from causing certain conditions, prolonged use of skin-lightening products can change the way existing diseases present themselves as well as their severity, added Dr. Faye. 
 

An increased risk

But what about skin bleaching’s link with cancer? “Skin cancer on Black skin is uncommon, yet it occurs in skin-bleaching women,” said Dr. Faye.

“Since 2000, we have had some cases of skin cancer associated with skin bleaching,” he continued, adding that squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most frequent type of cancer observed. 

If you look at what’s been published on the topic so far, you’ll see that “all the cases of skin cancer are located over the neck or some exposed area when skin bleaching products are used for more than 10 years,” said Dr. Faye. “And most of the time, the age of the patient ranges from 30 to 60 years.”

The first known case in Africa was reported in a 58-year-old woman from Ghana, who had been using skin bleaching products for close to 30 years. The patient presented with tumors on her face, neck, and arms.

Dr. Faye then proceeded to share more than 10 such carcinoma cases. “These previous reports strongly suggest a relationship between skin bleaching and skin cancers,” said Dr. Faye.

Indeed, there have been reports and publications in the literature that support his observation, including one last year, which found that use of the tyrosinase inhibitor hydroquinone was associated with approximately a threefold increased risk for skin cancer.

For some, including Brazil’s Dr. Lupi, Dr. Faye’s talk was enlightening: “I didn’t know about this relationship [of bleaching] with skin cancer, it was something new for me.”

But the prevalence of SCC is very low, compared with that of skin bleaching, Dr. Faye acknowledged. Moreover, the cancer observed in the cases reported could have resulted from a number of reasons, including exposure to harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun and genetic predisposition in addition to the use of bleaching products such as hydroquinone. “Other causes of skin cancer are not excluded,” he said.

To further explore the link between skin bleaching and cancer, “we need case-control studies to provide more evidence,” he added. Until then, dermatologists “should keep on promoting messages” to prevent SCC from occurring. This includes encouraging the use of proper sun protection in addition to discouraging the practice of skin bleaching, which still persists despite more than 10 African nations banning the use of toxic skin-lightening products.

Dr. Faye and Dr. Lupi report no relevant financial relationships.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

SINGAPORE – Can the prolonged use of skin-lightening products, such as hydroquinone, lead to skin cancer?

This question was posed by Ousmane Faye, MD, PhD, director general of Mali’s Bamako Dermatology Hospital, at the World Congress of Dermatology. 

Dr. Faye explored the issue during a hot topics session at the meeting, prefacing that it was an important question to ask because “in West Africa, skin bleaching is very common.”

“There are many local names” for skin bleaching, he said. “For example, in Senegal, it’s called xessal; in Mali and Ivory Coast, its name is caco; in South Africa, there are many names, like ukutsheyisa.”

Skin bleaching refers to the cosmetic misuse of topical agents to change one’s natural skin color. It’s a centuries-old practice that people, mainly women, adopt “to increase attractiveness and self-esteem,” explained Dr. Faye.

To demonstrate how pervasive skin bleaching is on the continent, he presented a slide that summarized figures from six studies spanning the past 2 decades. Prevalence ranged from 25% in Mali (based on a 1993 survey of 210 women) to a high of 79.25% in Benin (from a sample size of 511 women in 2019). In other studies of women in Burkina Faso and Togo, the figures were 44.3% and 58.9%, respectively. The most recently conducted study, which involved 2,689 Senegalese women and was published in 2022, found that nearly 6 in 10 (59.2%) respondents used skin-lightening products.

But skin bleaching isn’t just limited to Africa, said session moderator Omar Lupi, MD, PhD, associate professor of dermatology at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, when approached for an independent comment. “It’s a traditional practice around the world. Maybe not in the developed countries, but it’s quite common in Africa, in South America, and in Asia.”

His sentiments are echoed in a meta-analysis that was published in the International Journal of Dermatology in 2019. The work examined 68 studies involving more than 67,000 people across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. It found that the pooled lifetime prevalence of skin bleaching was 27.7% (95% confidence interval, 19.6-37.5; P < .01).

“This is an important and interesting topic because our world is shrinking,” Dr. Lupi told this news organization. “Even in countries that don’t have bleaching as a common situation, we now have patients who are migrating from one part [of the world] to another, so bleaching is something that can knock on your door and you need to be prepared.”

Misuse leads to complications

The issue is pertinent to dermatologists because skin bleaching is associated with a wide range of complications. Take, for example, topical steroids, which are the most common products used for bleaching, said Dr. Faye in his talk. 

“Clobetasol can suppress the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) function,” he said, referring to the body’s main stress response system. “It can also foster skin infection, including bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic infection.”

In addition, topical steroids that are misused as skin lighteners have been reported to cause stretch marks, skin atrophy, inflammatory acne, and even metabolic disorders such as diabetes and hypertension, said Dr. Faye.

To further his point, he cited a 2021 prospective case-control study conducted across five sub-Saharan countries, which found that the use of “voluntary cosmetic depigmentation” significantly increased a person’s risk for necrotizing fasciitis of the lower limbs (odds ratio, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.19-3.73; P = .0226).

Similarly, mercury, another substance found in products commonly used to bleach skin, has been associated with problems ranging from rashes to renal toxicity. And because it’s so incredibly harmful, mercury is also known to cause neurologic abnormalities. 

Apart from causing certain conditions, prolonged use of skin-lightening products can change the way existing diseases present themselves as well as their severity, added Dr. Faye. 
 

An increased risk

But what about skin bleaching’s link with cancer? “Skin cancer on Black skin is uncommon, yet it occurs in skin-bleaching women,” said Dr. Faye.

“Since 2000, we have had some cases of skin cancer associated with skin bleaching,” he continued, adding that squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most frequent type of cancer observed. 

If you look at what’s been published on the topic so far, you’ll see that “all the cases of skin cancer are located over the neck or some exposed area when skin bleaching products are used for more than 10 years,” said Dr. Faye. “And most of the time, the age of the patient ranges from 30 to 60 years.”

The first known case in Africa was reported in a 58-year-old woman from Ghana, who had been using skin bleaching products for close to 30 years. The patient presented with tumors on her face, neck, and arms.

Dr. Faye then proceeded to share more than 10 such carcinoma cases. “These previous reports strongly suggest a relationship between skin bleaching and skin cancers,” said Dr. Faye.

Indeed, there have been reports and publications in the literature that support his observation, including one last year, which found that use of the tyrosinase inhibitor hydroquinone was associated with approximately a threefold increased risk for skin cancer.

For some, including Brazil’s Dr. Lupi, Dr. Faye’s talk was enlightening: “I didn’t know about this relationship [of bleaching] with skin cancer, it was something new for me.”

But the prevalence of SCC is very low, compared with that of skin bleaching, Dr. Faye acknowledged. Moreover, the cancer observed in the cases reported could have resulted from a number of reasons, including exposure to harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun and genetic predisposition in addition to the use of bleaching products such as hydroquinone. “Other causes of skin cancer are not excluded,” he said.

To further explore the link between skin bleaching and cancer, “we need case-control studies to provide more evidence,” he added. Until then, dermatologists “should keep on promoting messages” to prevent SCC from occurring. This includes encouraging the use of proper sun protection in addition to discouraging the practice of skin bleaching, which still persists despite more than 10 African nations banning the use of toxic skin-lightening products.

Dr. Faye and Dr. Lupi report no relevant financial relationships.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

Whether you’ve decided to retire, relocate, or work for your local hospital, unwinding your practice will take time. Physicians can avoid mistakes by planning ahead and making a checklist for what to do and when to do it.

“Doctors shouldn’t assume everything takes care of itself. Many don’t think about compliance issues, patient abandonment, or accounts receivable that they need to keep open to collect from billing, which can occur months after the dates of service,” said David Zetter, president of Zetter HealthCare management consultants in Pennsylvania.

Debra Phairas, president of Practice and Liability Consultants, LLC, in California, suggests doctors start planning for the closing of their practice at least 90-120 days from their closing date.

“Many people and entities need to be notified,” said Ms. Phairas. The list includes patients, payers, vendors, employees, licensing boards, and federal and state agencies.

Medical societies may have specific bylaws that apply; malpractice carriers have rules about how long you should retain medical records; and some state laws require that you communicate that you’re closing in a newspaper, Mr. Zetter added.

Ms. Phairas recommends that physicians decide first whether they will sell their practice or if they’ll just shut it down. If they sell and the buyer is a doctor, they may want to provide transition assistance such as introducing patients and staff, she said. Otherwise, doctors may need to terminate their staff.

After doctors make that decision, Mr. Zetter and Ms. Phairas recommend taking these 12 steps to ensure that the process goes smoothly.
 

What to do 60-90 days out

1. Check your insurance contracts. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requires physicians to notify them 90 days after deciding to retire or withdraw from Medicare or Medicaid. Other payers may also require 90 days’ notice to terminate their contracts.

You’ll also need to provide payers with a forwarding address for sending payments after the office closes, and notify your malpractice insurance carrier and any other contracted insurance carriers such as workers’ compensation or employee benefit plans.

2. Buy “tail” coverage. Doctors can be sued for malpractice years after they close their practice so this provides coverage against claims reported after the liability policy expires.

3. Check your hospital contracts. Most hospitals where you have privileges require 90 days’ notice that you are closing the practice.

4. Arrange for safe storage of medical records. If you are selling your practice to another physician, that doctor can take charge of them, as long as you obtain a patient’s consent to transfer the medical records, said Ms. Phairas. Otherwise, the practice is required to make someone the guardian of the records after the practice closes, said Mr. Zetter. This allows patients at a later date to obtain copies of their records at a cost.

“This usually means printing all the records to PDF to be retained; otherwise, doctors have to continue to pay the license fee for the EMR software to access the records, and no practice is going to continue to pay this indefinitely,” said Mr. Zetter.

Check with your malpractice insurance carrier for how long they require medical records to be retained, which may vary for adult and pediatric records.

Ms. Phairas also advises doctors to keep their original records. “The biggest mistake doctors can make is to give patients all their records. Your chart is your best defense weapon in a liability claim.”
 

What to do 30-60 days out

5. Tell your staff. They should not hear that you’re retiring or leaving the practice from other people, said Ms. Phairas. But timing is important. “If you notify them too soon, they may look for another job. I recommend telling them about 45 days out and just before you notify patients, although you may want to tell the office manager sooner.”

Doctors may need help closing the practice and should consider offering the employees a severance bonus to stay until the end, said Ms. Phairas. If they do leave sooner, then you can hire temporary staff.

6. Notify patients to avoid any claims of abandonment. You should notify all active patients, which, depending on your state, can be any patient the physician has treated sometime in the past 12-36 months.

Some state laws require the notice to be published as an advertisement in the local newspaper and will say how far in advance it needs to be published and how long the ad needs to run. Notification also should be posted throughout the practice, and patients who call or visit should be given oral reminders.

“Your biggest expense will be mailing a letter to all patients,” said Mr. Zetter. The letter should include:

• The date of closing.
• The name(s) of the physicians taking over the practice (if applicable).
• Local physicians who would be willing to accept new patients.
• Instructions for how patients can obtain or transfer medical records (with a deadline for submitting record requests).
• How to contact the practice if patients and families have any concerns about the closing.

7. Notify your professional associations. These include your state medical board, credentialing organizations, and professional memberships. It’s critical to renew your license even if you plan to practice in other states. He recalled that one doctor let his license lapse and the medical board notified Medicaid that he was no longer licensed. “CMS went after him because he didn’t notify them that he was no longer operating in Washington. CMS shut him down in every state/territory. This interventional radiologist spent 3 years with two attorneys to get it resolved,” said Mr. Zetter.

8. Terminate any leases with landlords or try to negotiate renting the office space on a month-to-month basis until you close or sell, suggests Ms. Phairas. If the practice owns the space, the partners will need to decide if the space will be sold or leased to a new business.
 

What to do 30 days out

9. Notify referring physicians of when you plan to close your practice so they don’t send new patients after that date.

10. Send a letter to the Drug Enforcement Agency to deactivate your license if you plan not to write another prescription and after you have safely disposed of prescription drugs following the federal guidelines. Destroy all prescription pads and contact drug representatives to determine what to do with unused samples, if needed.

11. Notify all vendors. Inform medical suppliers, office suppliers, collection agencies, laundry services, housekeeping services, hazardous waste disposal services, and any other vendors. Make sure to request a final statement from them so you can close out your accounts.

12. Process your accounts receivable to collect money owed to you. Consider employing a collection agency or staff member to reconcile accounts after the practice has closed.

Mr. Zetter also suggested retaining a certified accountant to handle the expenses for shutting down the business and to handle your future tax returns. “If you shut down the practice in 2023, you will still have to file a tax return for that year in 2024,” he said.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

Whether you’ve decided to retire, relocate, or work for your local hospital, unwinding your practice will take time. Physicians can avoid mistakes by planning ahead and making a checklist for what to do and when to do it.

“Doctors shouldn’t assume everything takes care of itself. Many don’t think about compliance issues, patient abandonment, or accounts receivable that they need to keep open to collect from billing, which can occur months after the dates of service,” said David Zetter, president of Zetter HealthCare management consultants in Pennsylvania.

Debra Phairas, president of Practice and Liability Consultants, LLC, in California, suggests doctors start planning for the closing of their practice at least 90-120 days from their closing date.

“Many people and entities need to be notified,” said Ms. Phairas. The list includes patients, payers, vendors, employees, licensing boards, and federal and state agencies.

Medical societies may have specific bylaws that apply; malpractice carriers have rules about how long you should retain medical records; and some state laws require that you communicate that you’re closing in a newspaper, Mr. Zetter added.

Ms. Phairas recommends that physicians decide first whether they will sell their practice or if they’ll just shut it down. If they sell and the buyer is a doctor, they may want to provide transition assistance such as introducing patients and staff, she said. Otherwise, doctors may need to terminate their staff.

After doctors make that decision, Mr. Zetter and Ms. Phairas recommend taking these 12 steps to ensure that the process goes smoothly.
 

What to do 60-90 days out

1. Check your insurance contracts. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requires physicians to notify them 90 days after deciding to retire or withdraw from Medicare or Medicaid. Other payers may also require 90 days’ notice to terminate their contracts.

You’ll also need to provide payers with a forwarding address for sending payments after the office closes, and notify your malpractice insurance carrier and any other contracted insurance carriers such as workers’ compensation or employee benefit plans.

2. Buy “tail” coverage. Doctors can be sued for malpractice years after they close their practice so this provides coverage against claims reported after the liability policy expires.

3. Check your hospital contracts. Most hospitals where you have privileges require 90 days’ notice that you are closing the practice.

4. Arrange for safe storage of medical records. If you are selling your practice to another physician, that doctor can take charge of them, as long as you obtain a patient’s consent to transfer the medical records, said Ms. Phairas. Otherwise, the practice is required to make someone the guardian of the records after the practice closes, said Mr. Zetter. This allows patients at a later date to obtain copies of their records at a cost.

“This usually means printing all the records to PDF to be retained; otherwise, doctors have to continue to pay the license fee for the EMR software to access the records, and no practice is going to continue to pay this indefinitely,” said Mr. Zetter.

Check with your malpractice insurance carrier for how long they require medical records to be retained, which may vary for adult and pediatric records.

Ms. Phairas also advises doctors to keep their original records. “The biggest mistake doctors can make is to give patients all their records. Your chart is your best defense weapon in a liability claim.”
 

What to do 30-60 days out

5. Tell your staff. They should not hear that you’re retiring or leaving the practice from other people, said Ms. Phairas. But timing is important. “If you notify them too soon, they may look for another job. I recommend telling them about 45 days out and just before you notify patients, although you may want to tell the office manager sooner.”

Doctors may need help closing the practice and should consider offering the employees a severance bonus to stay until the end, said Ms. Phairas. If they do leave sooner, then you can hire temporary staff.

6. Notify patients to avoid any claims of abandonment. You should notify all active patients, which, depending on your state, can be any patient the physician has treated sometime in the past 12-36 months.

Some state laws require the notice to be published as an advertisement in the local newspaper and will say how far in advance it needs to be published and how long the ad needs to run. Notification also should be posted throughout the practice, and patients who call or visit should be given oral reminders.

“Your biggest expense will be mailing a letter to all patients,” said Mr. Zetter. The letter should include:

• The date of closing.
• The name(s) of the physicians taking over the practice (if applicable).
• Local physicians who would be willing to accept new patients.
• Instructions for how patients can obtain or transfer medical records (with a deadline for submitting record requests).
• How to contact the practice if patients and families have any concerns about the closing.

7. Notify your professional associations. These include your state medical board, credentialing organizations, and professional memberships. It’s critical to renew your license even if you plan to practice in other states. He recalled that one doctor let his license lapse and the medical board notified Medicaid that he was no longer licensed. “CMS went after him because he didn’t notify them that he was no longer operating in Washington. CMS shut him down in every state/territory. This interventional radiologist spent 3 years with two attorneys to get it resolved,” said Mr. Zetter.

8. Terminate any leases with landlords or try to negotiate renting the office space on a month-to-month basis until you close or sell, suggests Ms. Phairas. If the practice owns the space, the partners will need to decide if the space will be sold or leased to a new business.
 

What to do 30 days out

9. Notify referring physicians of when you plan to close your practice so they don’t send new patients after that date.

10. Send a letter to the Drug Enforcement Agency to deactivate your license if you plan not to write another prescription and after you have safely disposed of prescription drugs following the federal guidelines. Destroy all prescription pads and contact drug representatives to determine what to do with unused samples, if needed.

11. Notify all vendors. Inform medical suppliers, office suppliers, collection agencies, laundry services, housekeeping services, hazardous waste disposal services, and any other vendors. Make sure to request a final statement from them so you can close out your accounts.

12. Process your accounts receivable to collect money owed to you. Consider employing a collection agency or staff member to reconcile accounts after the practice has closed.

Mr. Zetter also suggested retaining a certified accountant to handle the expenses for shutting down the business and to handle your future tax returns. “If you shut down the practice in 2023, you will still have to file a tax return for that year in 2024,” he said.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

Whether you’ve decided to retire, relocate, or work for your local hospital, unwinding your practice will take time. Physicians can avoid mistakes by planning ahead and making a checklist for what to do and when to do it.

“Doctors shouldn’t assume everything takes care of itself. Many don’t think about compliance issues, patient abandonment, or accounts receivable that they need to keep open to collect from billing, which can occur months after the dates of service,” said David Zetter, president of Zetter HealthCare management consultants in Pennsylvania.

Debra Phairas, president of Practice and Liability Consultants, LLC, in California, suggests doctors start planning for the closing of their practice at least 90-120 days from their closing date.

“Many people and entities need to be notified,” said Ms. Phairas. The list includes patients, payers, vendors, employees, licensing boards, and federal and state agencies.

Medical societies may have specific bylaws that apply; malpractice carriers have rules about how long you should retain medical records; and some state laws require that you communicate that you’re closing in a newspaper, Mr. Zetter added.

Ms. Phairas recommends that physicians decide first whether they will sell their practice or if they’ll just shut it down. If they sell and the buyer is a doctor, they may want to provide transition assistance such as introducing patients and staff, she said. Otherwise, doctors may need to terminate their staff.

After doctors make that decision, Mr. Zetter and Ms. Phairas recommend taking these 12 steps to ensure that the process goes smoothly.
 

What to do 60-90 days out

1. Check your insurance contracts. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requires physicians to notify them 90 days after deciding to retire or withdraw from Medicare or Medicaid. Other payers may also require 90 days’ notice to terminate their contracts.

You’ll also need to provide payers with a forwarding address for sending payments after the office closes, and notify your malpractice insurance carrier and any other contracted insurance carriers such as workers’ compensation or employee benefit plans.

2. Buy “tail” coverage. Doctors can be sued for malpractice years after they close their practice so this provides coverage against claims reported after the liability policy expires.

3. Check your hospital contracts. Most hospitals where you have privileges require 90 days’ notice that you are closing the practice.

4. Arrange for safe storage of medical records. If you are selling your practice to another physician, that doctor can take charge of them, as long as you obtain a patient’s consent to transfer the medical records, said Ms. Phairas. Otherwise, the practice is required to make someone the guardian of the records after the practice closes, said Mr. Zetter. This allows patients at a later date to obtain copies of their records at a cost.

“This usually means printing all the records to PDF to be retained; otherwise, doctors have to continue to pay the license fee for the EMR software to access the records, and no practice is going to continue to pay this indefinitely,” said Mr. Zetter.

Check with your malpractice insurance carrier for how long they require medical records to be retained, which may vary for adult and pediatric records.

Ms. Phairas also advises doctors to keep their original records. “The biggest mistake doctors can make is to give patients all their records. Your chart is your best defense weapon in a liability claim.”
 

What to do 30-60 days out

5. Tell your staff. They should not hear that you’re retiring or leaving the practice from other people, said Ms. Phairas. But timing is important. “If you notify them too soon, they may look for another job. I recommend telling them about 45 days out and just before you notify patients, although you may want to tell the office manager sooner.”

Doctors may need help closing the practice and should consider offering the employees a severance bonus to stay until the end, said Ms. Phairas. If they do leave sooner, then you can hire temporary staff.

6. Notify patients to avoid any claims of abandonment. You should notify all active patients, which, depending on your state, can be any patient the physician has treated sometime in the past 12-36 months.

Some state laws require the notice to be published as an advertisement in the local newspaper and will say how far in advance it needs to be published and how long the ad needs to run. Notification also should be posted throughout the practice, and patients who call or visit should be given oral reminders.

“Your biggest expense will be mailing a letter to all patients,” said Mr. Zetter. The letter should include:

• The date of closing.
• The name(s) of the physicians taking over the practice (if applicable).
• Local physicians who would be willing to accept new patients.
• Instructions for how patients can obtain or transfer medical records (with a deadline for submitting record requests).
• How to contact the practice if patients and families have any concerns about the closing.

7. Notify your professional associations. These include your state medical board, credentialing organizations, and professional memberships. It’s critical to renew your license even if you plan to practice in other states. He recalled that one doctor let his license lapse and the medical board notified Medicaid that he was no longer licensed. “CMS went after him because he didn’t notify them that he was no longer operating in Washington. CMS shut him down in every state/territory. This interventional radiologist spent 3 years with two attorneys to get it resolved,” said Mr. Zetter.

8. Terminate any leases with landlords or try to negotiate renting the office space on a month-to-month basis until you close or sell, suggests Ms. Phairas. If the practice owns the space, the partners will need to decide if the space will be sold or leased to a new business.
 

What to do 30 days out

9. Notify referring physicians of when you plan to close your practice so they don’t send new patients after that date.

10. Send a letter to the Drug Enforcement Agency to deactivate your license if you plan not to write another prescription and after you have safely disposed of prescription drugs following the federal guidelines. Destroy all prescription pads and contact drug representatives to determine what to do with unused samples, if needed.

11. Notify all vendors. Inform medical suppliers, office suppliers, collection agencies, laundry services, housekeeping services, hazardous waste disposal services, and any other vendors. Make sure to request a final statement from them so you can close out your accounts.

12. Process your accounts receivable to collect money owed to you. Consider employing a collection agency or staff member to reconcile accounts after the practice has closed.

Mr. Zetter also suggested retaining a certified accountant to handle the expenses for shutting down the business and to handle your future tax returns. “If you shut down the practice in 2023, you will still have to file a tax return for that year in 2024,” he said.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.