High Demand: Identification of Dermatology Visit Trends from 1991-2016 National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys

Background: The field of dermatology is constantly evolving and expanding to accommodate for increased demand. In order to maximize future productivity, it is important to recognize and understand how the desires of patients and the nature of physician visits have changed over time. Objective: To evaluate and provide evidence-based reasoning for the changes occurring in the field of dermatology. Methods: Analysis of the 1991-2016 National Summary Tables from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) was performed in order to identify several trends relating to dermatology visits. Results: Annual visit rates to dermatologists have increased by 68%, while visit length has increased by 39%. Drug visits have increased by 86%, while drug mentions increased by 370.2%. Limitations: Limitations of this paper include limited a narrow timeline for data points. Conclusion: As the field of dermatology will continue to expand in the future, dermatologists can expect to be busier than ever before. We expect that more patients will seek care, physician visits will be longer, and chief complaints and treatment options will continue to expand and vary.