Dermatological complaints account for approximately 6% of all outpatient visits. Many dermatologic conditions necessitate timely and quality care to avert morbidity and mortality. Examples of conditions needing early and comprehensive dermatological treatment include melanoma, the 6th leading cause of cancer in the United States, and psoriasis, a significant cause of disability. Dermatologists provide special expertise in the care of patients with skin disorders. Unfortunately, despite projections of an oversupply of specialists, market demands suggest an undersupply as well as a geographic maldistribution of dermatologists in the United States. Access to efficient dermatological care of high quality is an increasingly important and challenging problem. In examining issues of access, it is important to establish some general definitions. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, 4th edition, accessibility is "the quality of being at hand when needed" or "the attribute of being easy to meet or deal with." For the purposes of this paper, access is defined as the ease with which one needing care can utilize existing, appropriate services. In this regard, good access to care means that appropriate services are readily available to the people who need them. Measures of access to care provide an important means for evaluating the quality of existing health care delivery systems and informing sound policy decisions. To date, most research regarding access to dermatologic care has focused on workforce characteristics. Unfortunately, limitations in access to care extend beyond issues like a shortage of health care providers or facilities, as many factors affect access to health care services. These include, but are not limited to, the balance between supply (i.e. the amount of available and appropriate services) and demand (i.e. the number of needed services), as well as the proximity of the supply relative to the demand (e.g. geographic distribution) and the resources required in utilizing the supply (e.g. insurance, money, time, transportation, etc.). Consequently, this paper will analyze the existing data regarding access to medical dermatologic care in the United States; the current measures used for quantifying and projecting supply and demand; and the feasibility of suggested policies for improving access to dermatological services.Master of Public Healt
