Photo Credit: kali9

The following is a summary of “Outcomes of the American Board of Dermatology focused Practice Improvement program 2016-2023,” published in the October 2024 issue of Dermatology by Stratman et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to identify the top self-selected Focused Practice Improvement (fPI) modules completed by board-certified dermatologists during the program’s first 8 years.  

They analyzed dermatologists certified by the American Board of Dermatology (ABD) who completed fPI modules from 2016 to 2023. This descriptive analysis examined the modules completed by topic, subspecialty, relevance, and self-reported changes to patient care resulting from the modules.  

The results showed that 19,143 fPI modules were completed by 7,378 unique ABD diplomates, representing 48.8% of all ABD-certified dermatologists (n = 15,118). A total of 18,917 participants (99%) found the modules relevant. Care gaps requiring improvement and performance remeasurement were identified in 2,919 (15.2%) completed modules. Topics like acne and medication-related laboratory monitoring were frequently noted as needing improvement. Care improvements were reported by diplomates in 8,397 instances (43.9%), while improved patient outcomes were reported in at least 1 patient 5,310 times (27.7%). Additionally, 18,633 diplomates (97.3%) indicated they would recommend fPI modules to peers.  

Investigators concluded the ABD fPI program helped board-certified dermatologists identify and improve the gaps in care, resulting in reported patient outcome improvements. 

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0190962224030391