Genetic Testing in Dermatology: A Survey Analyzing Obstacles to Appropriate Care

The past several decades have witnessed unprecedented advances in genomic technology, bringing genetic testing to the forefront of medical practice and moving us towards the practice of personalized medicine. Genetic testing has become an important aspect in preempting and successfully treating diseases in dermatology, yet difficulty remains in regards to obtaining genetic testing for patients. We conducted a survey for pediatric dermatologists in order to try to gauge and understand where difficulties lie in obtaining genetic testing and to analyze how best these issues can be resolved.

An 18-question survey was emailed to 480 dermatologists who have attended at least one of the last three annual Society for Pediatric Dermatology (SPD) meetings.

Virtually all providers encountered at least one situation in which they required genetic testing for a patient (97.3% [n = 108]) and 37.4% indicated needing genetic testing more than six times per year. Of the respondents who had attempted to obtain genetic testing, half were unsuccessful in obtaining coverage more than 75% of the time (45% [n = 32]) and only 7.0% (n = 5) achieved success 75% to 100% of the time. The most common reasons for obtaining genetic testing included the need to provide an accurate diagnosis, followed by the need to provide prognostic information and appropriate medical management.

The role of genetic testing in the practice of dermatology is expanding, yet obtaining coverage for genetic testing remains a challenge. We propose several solutions as to how this can be remedied.