This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citing articles on ISI (3)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Conflict of Interest  • Alert me on articles by topic

Philip E. LeBoit, MD
From the Dermatopathology Section, University of California, San Francisco.

Arch Dermatol. 1999;135:137-138.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Don't do it quite yet. Read on. Imagine a family practitioner. This good doctor examines patients with a panoply of problems, including those who suffer from skin diseases. The good doctor was indeed trained in residency to deal with the full gamut of human disease, including lectures on dermatologic problems and even a rotation through the dermatology clinic at his/her hospital. When the good doctors encounter a patient with a difficult cutaneous condition they do not refer the patient to the respected dermatologist in their office building who in their judgment is most qualified to deal with the conundrum. Instead, they have found a dermatologist who is willing to accept a fee from them instead of letting the dermatologist bill the patient or their insurance. The fee that the dermatologist bills the good doctor is far less than, indeed only a fraction of, what the good . . . [Full Text of this Article]