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Comment & Response
August 2017

Mohs Micrographic Surgery Use in the United States Based on Medicare Data—Reply

Author Affiliations
  • 1Department of Dermatology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • 2Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
JAMA Dermatol. 2017;153(8):835. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2017.0733

In Reply We appreciate the interest by Dr Kantor in our article describing payments to dermatologists using the 2013 Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data: Physician and Other Supplier Public Use File.1 In our study we noted that the use of Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) was more frequent than excision or destruction of malignant growths. We did not explicitly suggest that these numbers were inconsistent with Mohs appropriate use criteria (AUC)2 but merely invited the readers to make their own assessment. We unambiguously stated that definitive interpretation regarding the propriety of these services could not be determined without accompanying clinical information. Notwithstanding, we welcome a discussion about the propriety of MMS utilization.

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