Interview with Richard P. Usatine, M.D.

How has Dermatologic Procedures in Office Practice, 2nd Edition evolved since the previous edition? How has it evolved since the first edition?   

This is the second edition and it has evolved greatly.

Completely new chapters:

Dermoscopy of Other Lesions in General Dermatology
Working in Challenging Locations
Ultrasound in Dermatology

What is the most exciting aspect of Dermatologic Procedures in Office Practice, 2nd Edition? What chapter or topic covered in the new edition are you most excited about?  

Every new chapter.

Who will find the greatest value from Dermatologic Procedures in Office Practice, 2nd Edition and why? 

Primary care providers and dermatology residents.

What new ideas, practices, or procedures would you like to highlight for the new edition?  

Deroofing procedure for Hidradenitis in chapter 16

Ultrasound – point of care ultrasound for dermatology in ch 22

Expanded information on dermoscopy in chapters 18 and 19

How to operate and do procedures in challenging anatomic regions in chapter 20.

What problem do you hope the future generation of your specialty will be able to solve?  

World peace and world hunger would be a great start!

More realistically, to provide compassionate and competent dermatological care for patients seen in primary care settings.

I am a family physician first by training and while I am now a professor and specialist in dermatology my passion is to teach primary care providers how to care for and do needed procedures for their patients with skin problems.

Many board-certified dermatologists (who are already in great shortage) will not see patients with Medicaid or underinsured persons. Many focus on cosmetic procedures for cash payments and don’t have time for basic medical and surgical dermatology. This leaves a large gap in access to dermatology care in the US and the world.

My hope is to prepare primary care providers to fill these gaps and not to discriminate against patients with lesser financial means. I really am very passionate about social justice in general and especially in the provision of health care. See my personal statement above.

Also, we worked very hard to demonstrate all the procedures (both in the book and in the videos) in persons across the spectrum of skin color. I write a column on this topic for the journal Cutis called Diagnosis Across the Skin Color Spectrum with an African American co-author. First column was July 2021 and continues every 1-2 months. This is another area of social justice that I am passionate about.

About the Editor

Richard P. Usatine, M.D. has devoted his career to educating healthcare providers at all levels and providing compassionate healthcare to underserved and vulnerable populations. He is both a Professor of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery and a Professor of Family and Community Medicine. He published 12 books in his career, and he is the lead author of 9 of these books including the 2nd edition of “Dermatological Procedures in Office Practice”, “Cutaneous Cryosurgery,” and the 3rd edition of the “Color Atlas of Family Medicine”. A number of these books have been translated into other languages including Greek, Turkish, Russian, Korean, Chinese, and Indonesian. In 2023, Dr. Usatine co-authored the book “Clinical and Dermoscopic Atlas of Non-Neoplastic Dermatoses: Variability According to Phototypes” with 3 international experts in dermoscopy including one who is the president of the International Dermoscopy Society. It deals with the use of a handheld dermatoscope for the diagnosis of skin problems across the spectrum of skin color. He collaborated with many researchers and educators nationally and internationally to publish over 200 journal articles in peer-reviewed journals (60 in the last 5 years and 20 articles in the last year).

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