US dermatologists have growth opportunities in wound care

There are approximately 2,200 specialty wound care clinics in the United States, nearly 2,000 of which are affiliated with hospitals. The rest are private practices that focus exclusively on wound care.

In addition, there are many plastic, vascular, podiatric, and other specialists who have a strong focus on wound care. But while dermatologists see a lot of wounds and are logically ideal for wound care, they generally haven’t jumped with both feet at the same pace as other specialists — at least in the US.

Rafael Mazuz, Managing Director of Diligence Wound Care Global, notes that in many global markets, dermatologists are the specialists responsible for treating many types of wounds.

He theorizes that in the US there is such high demand relative to supply for general and cosmetic dermatology that many dermatologists do not feel the need to focus on wound care.

Still, he believes that dermatologists in the US should do more, since providing effective advanced wound care is a combination of holistic medical care (medication adjustment, diet optimization, etc.), localized surgical care (wound bed preparation, scar mitigation, etc.), and Dermatologists usually have some level of training and comfort in both worlds.

“You’re as comfortable with a scalpel as you are with a medication dosing chart,” says Mazuz. “This also extends to considerations of procedure billing and revenue cycle management, as the documentation required to receive payments and avoid audits is something they’re more familiar with.”

Dermatologists also tend to see a whole range of wounds and associated disorders in the course of their normal practice – from venous stasis dermatitis to skin infections to malignant tumors affecting the skin, all of which are common in the average dermatologist’s patient count. As such, it should be a relatively easy transition for those looking to branch out.

A challenge for the average dermatology practice looking to move into advanced wound care is the clinical-operative complexity, which can be more intense than general or other types of dermatology.

“On the one hand, the patients themselves are often less mobile and need more time and support to move around within the clinic,” says Mazuz. “This is especially true for patients with pressure sores and wounds on the lower extremities. Depending on a clinic’s patient count, a significant proportion of patients and their assistive devices may not have access to all treatment rooms, which can create bottlenecks in patient flow.”

At a minimum, the time, staff and other resources required to treat patients with wounds will be more difficult to reliably estimate and plan for than, for example, patients requiring facial injections.

Although most dermatologists treat a significant number of patients with wounds and related conditions, referral patterns may not be as well developed and may take time to become established.

“Specialties like plastic, vascular, general surgery, and podiatry are typically the recipients of complex wounds,” says Mazuz. “Likewise, they often take calls and/or perform surgeries at one or more hospitals and/or are on call in emergency rooms. For dermatologists who don’t spend a lot of time in hospitals, it can be difficult to gain recognition in the community as a wound care specialist.”

For those looking to grow their wound care business, he recommends that dermatologists join the board of an interdisciplinary wound care center, which allows them to practice for potentially just a few hours a week while learning about all the advanced products, diagnostics, and other modalities as well the development of an existing patient population.