Industry payments to dermatologists: updates from the 2016 open payment data.

Payments made to dermatologists by pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing companies have become better understood following the advent of the Open Payments program. The purpose of this study was to analyze payments made to dermatologists in 2016 and evaluate trends in the payments from the previously published 2014 data.

Growth of mobile applications in dermatology - 2017 update.

BACKGROUND: More than 80% of households in the US have a smartphone. Growth of mobile applications (apps) has grown in parallel with access to smartphones. Mobile health apps are used in medical fields, including dermatology. These apps allow patients to access information regarding dermatology conditions as well as access physicians via teledermatology. PURPOSE: To analyze changes in number of dermatology mobile apps since 2014 and discuss benefits and drawbacks of mobile application growth to dermatology. METHODS: Apple, Android, and Windows were queried for dermatology-related apps. The apps were categorized by purpose and compared to previously published data to assess growth and change in dermatology apps. RESULTS: A total of 526 dermatology mobile apps were found corresponding to an 80.8% growth in dermatology apps since 2014. The market share of teledermatology increased from 11.0% in 2014 to 20.1% in 2017. CONCLUSIONS: Dermatology apps continue to grow at a comparable pace to general app growth. Teledermatology apps experienced significant growth from 2014 to 2017. This growth has allowed time-efficient and cost-effective access to dermatologists, especially in rural areas. The growth of dermatology apps targeting patients allows for patient autonomy but also can result in access to inaccurate information regarding dermatology conditions.

Corrigendum: Editorial boards of dermatology journals and their potential financial conflict of interest.

The original article was published on August 15, 2018 and corrected on September 15, 2018. The revised version of the article removes a co-author, unintentionally retained during the editorial proofing process. This change appears in the revised online PDF copy of this article.

Editorial boards of dermatology journals and their potential financial conflict of interest.

BACKGROUND: Financial relationships between editorial board members of peer-reviewed journals and pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing companies can potentially lead to biases and loss of objectivity of the medical literature. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential financial conflicts of interest that exist among editorial board members of dermatology journals. METHODS: Editorial board members for 36 dermatology journals were identified and searched using the Open Payments database on the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services website. The total amount of general payments made to these physician editors were collected and stratified using a tier system: 1) nothing reported, 2) >$0 and <$10,000, 3) >$10,000 and <$100,000, and 4) >$100,000. RESULTS: We identified 551 editors from 36 dermatology journals for use in our analysis. Some form of general payment was made to 87% of these physicians (480 of 551). Four journals had >25% of their editorial staff receiving >$100,000. CONCLUSIONS: Financial relationships exist between editorial board members of dermatology journals and pharmaceutical/medical device manufacturing companies, which could lead to financial conflicts of interest. Publications coming from journals with highly paid physician editors have more potential to be biased.

Black Hairy Tongue: Predisposing Factors, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

Black hairy tongue (BHT) is a benign condition commonly found among people who smoke, have poor oral hygiene, are immunocompromised, or have a medical condition limiting their ability to practice good oral hygiene. Though this condition is harmless, patients need to be educated on etiology as many common medications are associated with this condition. Patients being placed on certain antibiotics or antipsychotics should be educated on the importance of good oral hygiene or cessation of habits that promote BHT. Similarly, those with medical conditions increasing the risk for the development of BHT should schedule routine visits with their dentist or dental hygienist. Prognosis is good, and treatment consists of gentle brushing of the tongue, but many anecdotal reports exist demonstrating the use of medications or other products to treat this condition. This review addresses the epidemiology, clinical presentation, pathophysiology, etiology, histology, differential diagnosis, and treatment of BHT and lists all of the medications reported to cause this condition.