News

Hong Kong - New research at the University of Hong Kong’s Division of Dermatology suggests that combination therapy using infrared and radiofrequency waves produces mild to moderate improvements in facial skin laxity with few complications, HealthDay News reports.

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If you own your medical practice, your goal should not be simply to protect your personal wealth from the practice's creditors. While this is certainly a mandatory first step, you must do more.

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Many of us create PowerPoint (Microsoft) presentations every year, for business, education and family use. Often, the material is presented or viewed on someone else's computer, on the central server at a medical meeting, or by a business associate or family member.

Auditors estimate that two out of every three physicians will experience embezzlement during their careers. With the inordinate amount of cash circulating in their practices, dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons top the list of potential targets.

Newer body-sculpting treatments should offer patients definitive results, with minimal to no risk as well as no downtime. According to a plastic surgeon, the Ultrashape Contour I technology can offer patients a noninvasive body-contouring solution.

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Dermatologists are increasingly challenged to keep their patients informed of the risks involved in receiving skin and cosmetic treatments from nondermatologists or nonphysicians. Patients need to know that care at medspas may be uniquely different than what they can expect from a board-certified dermatologist. A list of questions from the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery can help guide patients on what to ask and expect.

As lasers and injectables increasingly make their way into the hands of non-dermatologists, rates of complications from cosmetic procedures are taking a turn for the worse and keeping dermatologists busy in correcting the wrongs of poorly trained practitioners.

What will it take for medspas to survive? What is the role of franchises in the medspa industry? While most parties have their own ideas, all agree that oversight and supervision are prerequisites for survival and success.

More untrained, unsupervised individuals are getting into the medspa niche, and complication rates are rising. While derms fight to persuade legislators that nondermatologist-run or insufficiently supervised spas increase the risk of medical complications or, worse, such errors as missing deadly melanomas, some states are passing laws enabling under-trained individuals to take the reins.

There are two sides to every story, and the medspa industry is no exception. While dermatologists have expressed concern about inadequate supervision of this growing industry, those providing goods to the medspas defend their stance.

As the number of medical spas mushrooms, so too do the dermatologic community's concerns over who's supervising medical cosmetic procedures - and even over who's performing the procedures. Less-than-stringent state regulations and an almost total lack of federal regulations are prompting dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons to lobby for change.

Madison, Wis. - A new study suggests that individuals have variable responsiveness to UV radiation, which causes some to have low vitamin D status despite abundant sun exposure, according to Neil Binkley, M.D., University of Wisconsin Osteoporosis Clinical Center and the Osteoporosis Clinical Research Program, Madison, Wis., and author of the study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

One of the oft-repeated concerns in the dermatology field is about the "shortage" of dermatologists. Admittedly, that can vary from region to region, or even city to city.

Without Congressional intervention for the sixth year in a row, physicians participating in the Medicare program will see their fees reduced by an average 9.9 percent for 2008, a move that already has prompted a call for action from a coalition of specialty groups and the American Medical Association (AMA).

Dr. Comfort is a practicing dermatologist in a large U.S. city, and he prides himself on making patients extraordinarily comfortable during and after surgical procedures.

The concept of a Medical Spa has attracted the attention of many physicians looking to enhance their existing cosmetic practice or add a profitable service to a practice that otherwise was getting harder to maintain profitability. A medical spa can be both rewarding and successful or disappointing and a financial loss.

National report - While medical spas appear to be here to stay, many struggle simply to stay open, sources tell Dermatology Times.

National report - At the urging of advocacy groups and large corporations, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) has launched a six-month, temporary initiative that will be the first step in measuring health care quality against health care dollars spent.

Dermatologists can agree the goal of reducing the number of medical errors that occur in hospitals is a laudable one. A problem arises, however, when trying to determine when specific conditions are caused by medical error, or when they occur naturally, especially in the dermatological arena.

Bombay, India - Ranbaxy Laboratories Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Bombay-based Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., has acquired the U.S. rights to a group of 13 dermatology brands from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. for $26 million, Domain-b.com reports.

Rotterdam, Netherlands - A new study suggests that long-term treatment with pegylated interferon alfa-2b in stage III melanoma has a significant impact on relapse-free survival (RFS), PRNewswire reports.

Rochester, Minn. - Preliminary findings of a study conducted by Mayo Clinic and North and Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) researchers suggest that two chemotherapy drugs combined with an agent that prevents the growth of blood vessels can significantly delay the spread of tumors in patients with metastatic melanoma.

London - Research conducted at University College London’s Institute of Child Health suggests that excessive washing with abrasive soaps and skincare products could be to blame for an increase in incidence of allergic diseases such as eczema, BBC News reports.

Iowa City, Iowa - According to a study published in the June issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, toenail dystrophy, tinea pedis and other conditions are associated with an increased risk of onychomycosis, HealthDay News reports.

Atlanta - The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released information saying that more than 20,000 new Lyme disease cases per year were reported from 2003 to 2005, making it the most common vector-borne disease in the United States, according to HealthDay News.