Incidences of skin cancer in the United States have increased over the past 30 years, especially among patients over the age of 60. As of 2014, 42 percent of dermatology patients were over the age of 60, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates this percentage will continue to increase until 2030. As a result of this growing demand for dermatology services, the dermatology subsector is expected to grow to $13.1 billion by 2017. Unsurprisingly, the growing number of dermatology patients, coupled with the fact that skin cancer has become one of the most costly Medicare diagnoses (accounting for roughly $2.9 billion in Medicare charges annually), has increased the profitability of dermatology practices across the country. In our recent Law360 column, we discuss investors’ interest in dermatology platforms, which is driven in part by this growth in the dermatology sector.
View the Law360 column “Investors’ Interest In Dermatology Is More Than Skin-Deep” (pdf).