Healthcare reform literacy among academic dermatologists: What we know and don’t know about the affordable care act

Abstract

Importance: There have been no attempts to determine the understanding of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) among dermatologists. Objective: Assess knowledge of the ACA among academic dermatologists. Design: A 21-item survey was administered to members of the Association of Professors of Dermatology (APD). The items assessed knowledge and opinions of the ACA, and demographics of the participants. Multivariate regressions were conducted to determine associations between variables. Participants: Members of the Association of Professors of Dermatology. Main Measure: Knowledge of the ACA. Results: One hundred and eight out of 368 APD members completed the survey (29.3%). Ninetysix percent of responders practice in an academic setting. Only 36 (33.3%) rated their knowledge of the ACA as good/great, whereas 67 (62%) believed that the ACA will change their practice. The mean number of knowledge questions correctly answered was 4.5 out of 7 (64.3%). Dermatologists who reported that their knowledge of the bill was good/great (p=0.04) and procedural dermatologists (p= 0.04) answered more questions correctly. Compared to procedural dermatologists, general dermatologists were more likely to support the ACA (p=0.003) but less likely to answer questions correctly. Conclusion: There appears to be knowledge gaps among dermatologists about the ACA and discordance between support for and knowledge about the ACA. The need for educating dermatologists on health care policies may warrant further investigation.