To the Editor We read with great interest and enthusiasm the recent Viewpoint by Linos et al1 about the need to create a coherent framework to address geriatric dermatologic issues. We agree that older adults are a rapidly expanding and vulnerable segment of the population who require special attention by dermatologists.
We want to make a point that with this rapid rise in the geriatric population, dermatologists will need to partner with geriatricians to adequately address this population’s dermatologic needs. However, we fear that the current geriatrics curricula may not adequately enable a strong partnership between dermatologists and geriatricians. A review of the American Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) curriculum requirements for geriatrics fellowships found no mention of dermatology,2 and a review of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) content outline found that only 2% of the geriatrics boards contain dermatology content.3 This is especially troubling since 6% of primary care clinic visits are dermatology related,4 and we suspect that a higher percentage of geriatrics visits are skin related.