According to a recent paper in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, superficial shaving followed by photodynamic therapy (PDT) may be a more effective treatment than cryotherapy for plantar warts.
The researchers treated 46 patients with 271 plantar warts with superficial shaving followed by immediate photodynamic therapy, and 26 patients with 147 warts with traditional cryotherapy. After six months, 91.3% of lesions treated with the shave-PDT treatment had greater than 50% clearance, versus 23.1% of lesions treated with cryotherapy. Additionally, the recurrence rate for those treated with the shave-PDT treatment was 8.7% versus 76.9% for those treated with cryotherapy.
Can the HPV vaccination be used to treat common warts? Read more in DWW.
Just when I thought I grasped the concept of congenital hemangiomas, new data raises novel questions. Compared to infantile hemangiomas that grow rapidly after birth and then involute, congenital hemangiomas arise and proliferate in utero. Although two major subtypes of congenital hemangiomas are well-known, rapidly involuting congenital hemangioma (RICH) and noninvoluting congenital hemangioma (NICH), Nasseri et al introduced partially involuting congenital hemangiomas (PICH) in a series of eight full-term infants. RICH involutes completely within the first six to 14 months of life, NICH grows proportionally with the child and does not regress, and PICH evolves from RICH to persistent NICH-like lesions. Keep reading!
Legislators seek to expand sunscreen ingredient ban
The Hawaii legislature is considering legislation that would prohibit the sale and distribution of sunscreens containing ingredients that are not classified as GRASE (generally recognized as safe and effective) by the FDA. If passed and signed by Gov. David Ige, the only sunscreen ingredients allowed to be distributed and sold in Hawaii would be mineral sunscreens zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, effective January 2023.
This legislation builds on Hawaii’s recent ban of the sale and distribution of sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate out of environmental concerns. The AADA and the Hawaii Dermatological Society sent a joint letter to the Hawaii Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health requesting that the committee consider the public safety consequences of removing access or the stigma attached to sunscreens containing certain ingredients. Read the letter.
Now that the holiday season is over and the winter doldrums have set in, many of us are dreaming of a sunny (sun-protected) vacation someplace warm. While it wasn’t quite a vacation, I did have the opportunity to attend one of the dermatology meetings in Hawaii last month. Among the many clinical pearls I took back to my practice, I also heard a talk by a past AAD president regarding the importance of donating to advocacy groups serving our specialty. Though I’ve probably heard that exact talk a few times previously at other meetings, this time it really sunk in.
One of this month’s feature articles in DW, Coming down the payment pike, outlines proposed changes to the CMS Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, including collapsing the evaluation and management (E/M) codes and making code selection predicated only on medical decision making (MDM) or time. Read more from DW Young Physician Advisor Jenna O’Neill, MD.
Novitas, a Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC), recently began round one of its Targeted Probe and Educate (TPE) audits for Mohs surgery. Physicians may receive a TPE if they practice within the Novitas region that includes: Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington, D.C.
The TPE audits are focused on CPT code 17311 appended with modifier 59. Mohs surgeons will typically use modifier 59 to indicate Mohs surgery was performed on more than one lesion during an encounter. However, in some instances the modifier may be errantly placed on 17311.
If a practice receives a TPE audit, it is critical Novitas receives a response by its deadline. If a TPE audit is received, Novitas has provided a checklist for practices to reference when responding to the request. Records will be reviewed by Novitas, and if it believes the code combination is being incorrectly used, the practice will receive educational guidance and follow-up audits will occur.
This TPE highlights the importance that physicians document and code accurately and appropriately. If a practice requires clarification on how to document this encounter or when modifier 59 is appropriate the AAD has released its 2020 Coding and Billing for Dermatology guide that focuses on dermatology-specific CPT®, ICD-10-CM, and HCPCS codes as well as documentation guidelines that may affect a dermatology practice.
If your practice is the subject of one of these audits, please contact the Academy's coding team at coding@aad.org.
Pharmaceutical executive pleads guilty to generic price fixing
A former pharmaceutical senior executive has pleaded guilty to conspiring to fix prices of generic drugs. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Hector Armando Kellum, who was responsible for overseeing generic-drug prices at Novartis AG generics unit Sandoz, pleaded guilty to conspiring with other drug executives to fix prices for antifungal cream clobetasol and other generic treatments from 2013 to 2015. Kellum is the fourth executive to be charged and the third to plead guilty in an ongoing investigation examining executives at several drugmakers.
Read more about the factors that can keep physicians out of the loop on current drug prices and costs to patients in Dermatology World.
Derm World apologizes for logo use in outside advertising
The cover of the February issue of Dermatology World magazine included a recruitment ad for a dermatology practice that featured a dermatologist wearing a lab coat with the AAD logo on it. This use of the AAD logo falls outside the Academy’s advertising standards and should not have been allowed. Thank you to alert members who pointed out the error!
In addition to questions about logo use, the Academy often fields queries about whether it sells lists of member email addresses to advertisers. The answer is no: The AAD does not sell member email or phone lists to advertisers.
Questions about the AAD’s advertising policy may be submitted via email.
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