ArticleThe Journal of clinical and aesthetic dermatology2025
Ethical Dilemmas in Clinical Dermatology: A Qualitative Analysis of American Academy of Dermatology Member Survey Responses.
Article in The Journal of clinical and aesthetic dermatology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Authors and funding
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Abstract
objectiveDermatologists face multiple ethical challenges, but prior publications have studied these through case-based reporting. This study evaluates what ethical issues dermatologists find most pressing through a qualitative analysis of open-ended survey responses from dermatologists.
methodsWe surveyed American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) members via email (n=3999) and asked respondents to describe, in one paragraph, a recent case or scenario that was ethically challenging in their practice of dermatology. Participants also answered multiple-choice questions about which types of ethical issues they found most challenging and common, as well as several other general queries about ethics in dermatology. We then conducted qualitative analysis on the free responses (n=188) and inductively found themes and subthemes.
resultsEthical dilemmas faced by AAD members reflect numerous subthemes. The most reported ethical challenges were requests for insurance dishonesty, insurance barriers, unscheduled patients, overutilization of procedures, inappropriate medication or paperwork requests, and patient disrespect. To our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate the range of reported ethical challenges faced by dermatologists through qualitative analysis. LIMITATIONS: As a qualitative study, the results are not fully representative of all ethical issues faced in dermatology and do not quantify their prevalence.
conclusionThese results could direct future wider-scale, quantitative studies to gain further understanding of the ethical challenges dermatologists face and how those challenges may vary based on practice demographics. Wider ethical analysis, particularly of the financial aspects of modern dermatologic care, may benefit the dermatology workforce.
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41446719PMC12724978What OpenQuestion holds
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