Characteristics of office-based visits for skin cancer. Dermatologists have more experience than other physicians in managing malignant and premalignant skin conditions.

Background: Actinic keratoses and skin cancer constitute a major public health problem for predisposed individuals.

Objective: The purpose of this paper is to determine the characteristics of office-based visits for actinic keratoses and skin cancer in the United States.

Methods: The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey provided data on office-based physician visits for actinic keratoses and skin cancer in 1993 and 1994.

Results: There were 3.7 million visits per year for actinic keratoses, 3.1 million visits per year for nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC), and 430,000 visits per year for melanoma. Excisions and destructions of lesions accounted for 90%, 67%, and 62% of procedures for actinic keratoses, NMSC, and melanoma, respectively. Dermatologists (683), plastic surgeons (37), and general and family physicians (11) managed more visits per physician per year than other specialists.

Conclusions: Dermatologists have significantly more experience managing skin cancer than do other physicians.