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Home-use aesthetic devices are proliferating and improving, according to an expert. Joel Schlessinger, M.D., says that, increasingly, patients want to know if home-use dermatologic devices work. Many such devices probably provide some benefit, he says, though they are generally geared toward cosmetic rather than medical indications.

The start of 2013 found Congress in frantic negotiations to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, which it did (barely) with passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) on Jan. 1. As a result, most Americans, including physicians, will see their taxes increase. For those who earn more than $400,000 and/or have significant investment income, the added tax bite you will feel beginning this year could be especially significant.

Even if a dermatologist has only a few minutes per visit to devote to patient education, taking a practical approach can boost the impact of these efforts, says Judith Hong, M.D., a third-year dermatology resident at the University of California, San Francisco.

To address a medical mistake or unsatisfactory outcome, Neil S. Prose, M.D., has a unique suggestion: “Imagine yourself on the opposite side of the table from the patient, with the problem in the middle. Then imagine what it would take to get on the same side of the table, working together.”

Nervousness over the potential of falling off the oft-publicized “fiscal cliff” was averted when the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) was approved by the House and Senate and signed into law by President Obama. The legislation addressed and resolved most of the tax uncertainty that made year-end tax planning for 2012 so difficult for many people. Unfortunately, however, the final resolution of issues related to spending cuts and the debt ceiling was delayed.

Women who regularly take aspirin have a 21 percent lower risk of developing melanoma than those who do not take the drug, results of a recent study indicate.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved Lymphoseek, a radioactive diagnostic imaging agent to locate lymph nodes in patients with certain cancers, including melanoma.

Patients who have severe psoriasis and fail conventional therapies can choose from biologic regimens that increasingly match drug attributes with individual patient characteristics, an expert says.

Dermatologists can provide value in the era of healthcare reform by realistically gauging the cost-effectiveness of many treatment strategies, according to an expert who spoke at the 71st annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology in Miami Beach, Fla.

A new smartphone application from the American Academy of Dermatology provides evidence-based clinical guidelines for treating patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

Legal action related to cutaneous laser procedures have increased significantly in the past three decades, according to results of a recent study, and even doctors who aren’t personally handling the devices are being named in litigation.

Treating facial rhytids may require botulinum toxin doses as much as five times higher in the upper facial muscles than the lower facial muscles, according to findings of a recent study.

The asthma medication omalizumab helps to calm chronic urticaria in patients who had failed standard therapy, according to results of a phase 3 study.