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Although setting up a cosmetic practice requires commitment and creativity, such practices can help insulate dermatologists against the impact of a sluggish economy, an expert says.

Exercise, sun, a nice meal and a little wine sounds like the perfect prescription for a good and healthy life, and it might be - unless this is a patient who suffers from rosacea. But how should a physician approach the treatment of a condition when contributing factors consist of daily living?

To address a lack of guidance for physicians' and medical students' use of social media, the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs for the American Medical Association (AMA) is studying the subject for a report this fall. Experts applaud the move.

After more than 50 years as a dermatologist, Denny Tuffanelli, M.D., considers it an honor and a privilege to care for patients. He spends five-and-a-half days a week at a group dermatology practice in San Francisco, where he practices with his daughter, general dermatologist Lucia Tuffanelli, M.D. The patriarch, clinical professor emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco, continues to see consults at four hospitals.

Although many dermatologists have not yet embraced social media - such as the wildly popular Facebook - for their practices, others are finding that these tools can provide a targeted, cost-efficient and increasingly useful channel for connecting with patients, experts say.

Durham, N.C. - Stiefel, based here, has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for Veltin gel for topical treatment of acne vulgaris in patients at least 12 years old, the online Pharmaceutical Business Review reports.

Chicago - The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) has launched new CCHIT-certified programs for electronic health records (EHRs) in behavioral health, dermatology, and long-term and post-acute care.

New York - La Roche-Posay has issued a call for submission of abstracts for the La Roche-Posay North American Foundation’s 2011 Research Awards.

New York - Histogen, a regenerative-medicine company based in San Diego, has named Neil Sadick, M.D., to its scientific advisory board, PRWeb reports.

Medical Missions 101 : Benefits far outweigh negatives when volunteering abroad, derms say Wonder Drug? : Ipilimumab dramatically improves survival in melanoma patients Special Report : Women & Skin

Dr. Bill's practice sees more than 1,000 patients a week, most covered by some version of medical insurance. The practice outsourced its billing to a billing company, which takes a small percentage of each paid patient bill as its method of payment. Recently, a disgruntled patient sued Dr. Bill, alleging illegal fee splitting.

Traveling abroad on medical missions poses inherent challenges. But dermatologists who have made such trips year after year say the positives far outweigh the negatives.

A recent study appears to have identified a drug that promises to dramatically improve survival rates in melanoma patients. Ahead, however, lies the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval process and still more research on what some are already hailing as a wonder drug: ipilimumab.

Nail diseases are an important component of any dermatologist's practice. In many cases, treatment of nail conditions is difficult, as penetration of topical medications through the nail plate is challenging. Light therapy, which is able to travel through tissues and focus on specific targets without damage to surrounding normal skin or nail, would be a welcome option in the therapy of any nail disorder.

All physicians are familiar with the concept of the Hippocratic Oath, a 2,500-year-old promise to uphold professional ethical standards. I have not reviewed the oath since I recited it at my graduation from medical school in 1985, but it came to mind as I faced a monthly red budget statement despite a full-capacity schedule with limited staff support, and low Press Ganey satisfaction scores about lengthy waits for appointments and service.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) may be out of the public eye, but curing these unseen epidemics requires ongoing research, says an expert who spoke at the 2010 annual meeting of the Society for Investigative Dermatology.

While dermatologists and other physicians who serve Medicare patients have been given a reprieve until Nov. 30 from the 21.3 percent payment cut that had gone into effect in June - and were also given a 2.2 percent increase - there is more bad news to come, unless Congress gets rid of the current mechanism for setting rates.

Sixty thousand new cases of invasive melanoma are diagnosed each year, and depending on the severity, many patients stand a chance of those malignancies recurring in the following five or 10 years or beyond. On Call asked dermatologists around the country about their approach to follow-up care for their melanoma patients.

Results from a multicenter, randomized, phase 3 clinical trial represent a landmark in research for metastatic melanoma because they are the first ever to show an experimental agent significantly improving median and long-term overall survival in previously treated patients with unresectable stage III/IV disease, reported Steven O'Day, M.D., at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology.

For many pregnant women, their bellies aren't the only things popping out during their nine months of gestation. Skin eruptions can plague expectant women any time during pregnancy. While some dermatoses can be simply uncomfortable, others can pose a risk to the unborn fetus.

As teledermatology gains acceptance throughout the healthcare field, dermatologists must ensure that they and their residents are comfortable with this technology, according to one expert.

A 1,444 nm Nd:YAG lipolysis laser (AccuSculpt, Lutronic) represents a safe and effective treatment modality known as laser-assisted facial contouring (LAFC), said J. David Holcomb, M.D., at 2010 Laser, the 30th annual American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery conference.

As women become more familiar and comfortable with the idea of a medication that can help give them the kind of lush, long eyelashes they've always wanted, physicians have increasingly found themselves prescribing Latisse (bimatoprost ophthalmic solution 0.03 percent, Allergan) and addressing eyelash issues previously dealt with primarily at the cosmetics counter.

What should you keep in mind when preparing for a volunteer mission in a foreign country? Carrie Kovarik, M.D., co-director of the website africa.telederm.org and assistant professor, department of dermatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, offers several tips.

Galvanic skin devices generate low-voltage DC current. Galvanic current is produced when electrons flow from a higher potential to a lower potential. Galvanic current has been used for years by æstheticians in anti-aging skin treatments to change the electric potential of the skin.

The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) has named global leadership and volunteerism as two of its strategic initiatives for the next five years, according to Wingfield Rehmus, M.D., chairman of the AAD's Education and Volunteers Abroad Committee.

New findings from research investigating the use of infliximab (Remicade, Centocor) in patients with psoriasis provide further evidence of the value of this potent TNF-alpha blocker as a therapeutic option.

When he was launching the laser program at New York University Medical Center, Roy G. Geronemus, M.D., made sure to have the cutting-edge technology of the time: an argon laser to treat port wine stains, venous malformations and telangiectasias. Soon after, NYU was among the first centers in the country to offer the CO2 laser, touted then as the new approach for removing benign skin lesions.

Dermatology practices across the country report a higher percentage of missed appointments than in the past. You may consider appointment no-shows a nuisance, but patients missing appointments may have a greater impact than you or your staff realize. Every appointment no-show is a revenue drain and a missed opportunity to contribute to your bottom line.

A prognostic assay, expected to be available to practices in late 2010, helps to predict melanoma recurrence risk in some of the hardest-to-predict melanoma cases - those patients who qualify for sentinel node biopsy but have negative nodes, according to a new study.