title: Introduction. The magnitude of skin disease in the United States.
abstract: Skin disease is common in the United States and accounts for a considerable fraction of all outpatient visits. Dermatologists care for more skin disease visits than any other single specialty, while still accounting for a minority of visits overall. The data presented in this introduction, from 1997, do not show a drastic drop in the number of visits to dermatologists as might be feared to occur with the growth in managed care. These visits for skin disease represent a considerable disease burden in the United States. Skin disease is not simply a cosmetic problem. As the data on psoriasis show, skin disease has a tremendous impact on HRQL. The magnitude of this impact on the individual patient is comparable to the impact of other medical disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1071, USA. afleisch@wfubmc.edu
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Fleischer
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Rapp
mesh_terms: D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003880:Dermatology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology