Think dermatology turf wars are rough and tumble in the U.S. with the encroachment of medical spas, plastic surgeons, aestheticians, and primary care physicians?
Things could be a lot worse. You could, for example, be practicing dermatology in the Land of the Rising Sun.
In Japan, physicians are free to declare themselves to be practitioners of any speciality when they open up a private clinic. Many of them choose to hang out a sign proclaiming that they're dermatologists, according to Dr. Masayuki Amagai, professor of dermatology at Keio University, Tokyo.
For instance, a physician may train as an ob.gyn., work as an ob.gyn. for 30 years at a medical center, then as retirement nears, and being worn out by countless dead-of-night calls regarding patients going into labor, the ob.gyn. leaves the institution and opens a private clinic.
Dermatology is a popular choice. The office hours are regular, and the reimbursement for an untrained, self-proclaimed dermatologist is the same as for a board-certified one. The self-proclaimed dermatologists take on the easiest cases and refer the more challenging ones to board-certified dermatologists.
"I think this is a situation unique to Japan," Dr. Amagai said at the World Congress of Dermatology in Seoul, South Korea.
--Bruce Jancin