Patients seen in a dermatology clinic have unmet preventive health care needs

Dermatologists provide special expertise in the care of patients with skin disease, whereas primary care providers have special expertise in preventive care. Patients bypassing their primary care provider to use dermatologists directly may miss an opportunity for identification of preventive health needs. We conducted a pilot study to determine whether patients seeing a dermatologist have unmet general preventive health care needs. A 1-page assessment was developed in accordance with the US Preventive Services Task Force guidelines and was distributed to a convenience sample of 161 patients in a dermatology clinic. Unmet needs were identified in the areas of screening tests, counseling, immunizations, vitamins, and replacement hormones. Of subjects aged 25 to 64 years, 94% without a primary care provider had unmet needs compared with 28% of subjects with a primary care provider. We found that patients seeing a dermatologist often had unmet preventive health needs. Dermatologists and primary care providers must work together to provide optimal skin care and preventive health care needs for the patient.