Routine skin cancer screening in Germany: four years of experience from the dermatologists' perspective

In 2008, routine skin cancer screening (rSCS) was introduced into routine care for persons ≥35 years in Germany. To date, about 95% of approximately 3,500 office-based dermatologists participate in this program paid by the statutory health insurances.

To evaluate German rSCS from the dermatologists' perspective.

Since 2009, every year standardized questionnaires were sent nationwide to about 2,000 dermatologists, once yearly addressing the actual patients, screenings and treatments, the personal experiences and the dermatologists' attitudes towards rSCS. Descriptive data analysis from 2009, 2010 and 2011 was performed.

The average dermatologist -performed 1,380/1,364/1,348 screenings annually (2009/ 2010/2011), with a mean remuneration of EUR 21.50/22.10/ 21.93. 32.9/46.6/53.3% of the dermatologists were rather or very satisfied with rSCS, and a rising number of dermatologists (69.4/80.0/83.1%) perceived a better quality of health care for skin cancer since 2008.

rSCS is widely accepted by German dermatologists and is conducted with increasing frequency.