American Contact Dermatitis Society 21 Annual Meeting

Increasing access to patch testing by implementing physician extenders
Matthew J. Zirwas, MD, and Sarah G. Otto, CNP
The Ohio State University Contact and Occupational Dermatitis Center, Columbus, OH
Background
A survey of ACDS members conducted in 2008 revealed that on average patients waited 6.3 months for
an appointment to be patch tested by an ACDS member.
Objective
Determining if adding a physician extender improved access to patch testing without compromising
patient satisfaction.
Methods
A nurse practitioner was added to the Ohio State Contact and Occupational Dermatitis Center in mid-
2009. Comparison of wait time and number of patients seen prior to and after adding a nurse practitioner
at The Ohio State University Contact and Occupational Dermatitis Center. Also, an analysis of patient
satisfaction surveys completed by patients seen in the contact dermatitis center after implementing a
nurse practitioner.
Results
Increased access to patch testing was achieved by decreasing the wait time to 3 months from 6 months
and increasing the number of patients able to be patch tested from 12 to 20 each week. Data on patient
satisfaction is still being collected and will be reported at the ACDS meeting.
Conclusion
Adding a physician extender to a patch testing practice can increase access to patch testing. We will
discuss approaches to identifying, educating, and integrating physician extenders into a patch testing
clinic. We will also discuss patient satisfaction with the physician extender.
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