Melanoma International Foundation Blog

by Dr. Keith Flaherty, M.D.

A study by the American Academy of Dermatology(AAD) showed that a patient needing a cosmetic appointment with a dermatologist could get into the office in just eight days. However, when they requested a mole check, a typical wait of 26 days was in order. The study by Dr. Jack Resnick, assistant professor of dermatology at the medical school of University of California at San Francisco, was enlightening and disheartening.

A researcher posing as a patient called every board certified dermatologist in the 12 cities. Seattle had a median Botox wait of almost eight days to get an appointment, whereas there was a 35 day wait for a changing mole.

Patients often call MIF with this complaint that they can't get a timely appointment with a dermatologist. We urge them in our education programs to get to a dermatologist promptly if they find a changing mole, and then they hurry up to wait! The president elect of the AAD said it seemed obvious that cosmetic patients had faster access to dermatologists than did medical patients. One explanation was that the demand for medical dermatology outstrips the supply. Others, however, tend to agree that it is the financial incentive driving the market. The charges for a Botox anti-wrinkle treatment is $400 to $600. And of course, health insurance doesn’t cover a penny of it, so patients pay up-front. Doctors don’t have to deal with insurance companies to reimburse them for the Botox as they do with suspicious mole exams.

We at MIF urge dermatologists to please consider the personal anguish patients face when they think they may have melanoma. The waiting for a skin exam can be very stressful. No one knows how fast melanoma grows as well, so waiting can be risky. To put profit before patient is certainly against any Hippocratic Oath taken when you become a doctor.