An assessment of United States dermatology practices during the COVID-19 outbreak

Objectives: The COVID-19 outbreak is a serious threat to public health and social distancing on the part of individuals can help contain the epidemic. It is unknown if dermatologists are assisting with the public health officials' recommendations for social distancing by closing their practice or limiting their practice to the treatment of emergency conditions. This study examines the activity level of dermatology practices during the United States COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: We performed scripted phone calls to 60 dermatology practices in six different counties in the United Stated during the COVID-19 outbreak. We assessed if practices are open and if they are serving patients with urgent and non-urgent conditions. Results: Of the 60 dermatologists selected for the study, 55 were successfully contacted (92% contact rate). Of these practices, 29 (53%) were open, 17 (31%) were only seeing urgent patients and 9 (16%) were closed. New York, New York had 2 (20%) open offices which was the lowest proportion of any county (p = .04). Counties with higher prevalence had fewer open offices (p < .01, R-2 = .7). Conclusions: Many practices have restricted their level of operation especially in higher areas of COVID-19 prevalence, likely to help facilitate social distancing.