Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Dermatology, Gender Differences, JAMA, Medicare, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 18.02.2021
Dermatology: Financial Reimbursements Better for White Males, Primarily Due to Treatment of Premalignant Lesions and Biopsies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Lauren A. V. Orenstein, MD | She/her/hers
Assistant Professor of Dermatology
Robert A. Swerlick, MD
Professor and Alicia Leizman Stonecipher Chair of Dermatology
Emory University School of Medicine
Atlanta, GA 30322
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Financial incentives have the potential to drive provider behavior, even unintentionally. The aim of this study was to evaluate differences in clinic “productivity” measures that occur in outpatient dermatology encounters. Specifically, we used data from 2016-2020 at one academic dermatology practice to evaluate differences in work relative value units (wRVUs, a measure of clinical productivity) and financial reimbursement by patient race, sex, and age. 66,463 encounters were included in this study, among which 70.1% of encounters were for white patients, 59.6% were for females, and the mean age was 55.9 years old. (more…)