Exploring patient preferences for dermatologist gender, race, and training

Summary: Abstract Body: The purpose of this study was to assess patient preferences for their dermatology provider’s gender, race, and training. This was a cross-sectional survey study. Patients were recruited from an academic dermatology outpatient clinic to complete a survey that inquired about their preferences for their provider’s demographic and training level across various indications (e.g. Mohs surgery). No preference was an option for all questions. For questions regarding level of training, patients could choose between physician provider (MD or DO) or non-physician provider (PA or NP). There were 186 survey respondents that completed at least one item. 124 (67.0%) respondents were female and 155 (86.1%) were white. Across all indications, there was a significantly greater proportion (13/25, 52.0%) of non-white respondents who had at least one preference for their dermatologist’s race as compared to white respondents (29/153, 19.0%) (p<0.001). Of those who had a preference, 100% of non-white respondents preferred a non-white provider, and 75.9% of white respondents preferred a white provider. Most female respondents preferred a female provider for full-body skin exams (72/122, 59.0%), which differed significantly from the proportion of men who preferred a male provider for this indication (p<0.001). Most respondents had no preference for their provider’s level of training across all indications except for treatment of autoimmune disease where 54.7% of respondents preferred a physician provider. This study underscores the importance of diversity among dermatology providers, as most non-white respondents preferred a non-white provider, and a majority of female respondents preferred a female provider for certain indications. The lack of explicit preference for a physician provider by many respondents may suggest patients are not familiar with the difference between a physician and NP or PA, though additional studies are needed to see if this is the case. Joseph T. McGrath², Evelyn F. Fagan², Gunther Grinde², Bianca Ituarte¹, Erin X. Wei² 1. University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, United States. 2. Dermatology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, United States. Minoritized Populations and Health Disparities Research