Years of dermatology experience and geographic region are associated with outlier performance of excision or destruction for nonmelanoma skin cancer

Introduction: Treatments for nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) include excision (surgical removal) and destruction (cryotherapy or curettage with or without electrodesiccation) in addition to other methods. Although cure rates are similar between excision and destruction for low-risk NMSCs, excision is substantially more expensive. Performing destruction when appropriate can reduce costs while providing comparable cure rate and cosmesis.Objective: To identify characteristics associated with exclusive (outlier) performance of excision or destruction for NMSC.Methods: The study consisted of malignant excision and destruction procedures submitted by dermatologists to Medicare in 2019. Proportions of services for each method were analyzed with respect to geographic region, years of dermatology experience, median income of the practice zip code, and rural-urban commuting area (RUCA) code.Results: Fewer years of experience predicted a higher proportion of excisions (R2 = 0.7, p < .001) and higher odds of outlier excision performance. Outlier performance of excision was associated with practicing in the South, Midwest, and West, whereas outlier performance of destruction was associated with practicing in the Northeast and Midwest.Conclusions: Dermatologists with less experience or in certain geographic regions performed more malignant excision relative to destruction. As the older population of dermatologists retires, the cost of care for NMSC may increase.

Automated summary

A study on dermatologists performing procedures for nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) found that less experienced doctors were more likely to choose excision as the treatment method. The choice of treatment method was also influenced by geographical region, with doctors in the South and Midwest more likely to choose excision, while doctors in the Northeast and Midwest more likely to choose destruction.