Skincare is more than just a beauty trend —it's an important component of employees' health and wellness, and can cut down on employers' healthcare spend, too.
Approximately one in four Americans — or 84.5 million people — are impacted by skin diseases every year, according to data from the American Academy of Dermatology Association, including eczema, acne, psoriasis and skin cancer. Yet, dermatology care and associated benefits remain relatively low on organizations' priority list, despite the many advantages that investing in the right platform or service could bring.
"We now have specialized care models for chronic illnesses like GI conditions and diabetes, but as an industry we've left dermatology in the dust," says Olivia Deitcher, founder and CEO of Zest Health. "We think of psoriasis and eczema as one-time quick diseases that are easy to fix but that's not true — these are chronic conditions caused by systemic inflammation, much like IBS or Crohn's."
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Technically, medical dermatological procedures such as skin cancer screenings, steroid injections, surgical removals and topical treatments are covered by most health insurance plans. However, the dermatology industry is currently experiencing a professional shortage, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, with only 3.7 professionals for every 100,000 people. In addition, many of the remaining doctors are focused on cosmetic dermatology instead of medical dermatology, further thinning the number of providers under any given network.
As a result, employees face long wait times for dermatology services and are often pushed toward drugs and prescriptions to treat their condition quickly — which is expensive for the organizations receiving the claims, and is not always a guaranteed solution.
"We should be troubled by the fact that really costly tools are being used to replace better care," Deitcher says. "It's not an efficient use of healthcare dollars and employees are still being deeply underserved for their chronic condition."
A dermatology benefit strategy that works
Adding a specialized third-party provider as a supplemental benefit offering could go a long way in closing the existing care gap, according to Deitcher. For example, employees working at organizations that Zest partners with can schedule an appointment as soon as the following day after registering with the platform. In that appointment, one of Zest's dermatologists will perform a thorough skincare intake that covers the standard factors like medical history, nutritional patterns and sleep cycles, as well as less traditional drivers, like the kind of laundry detergent employees use and their preferred water temperature when they bathe. Different conditions have different triggers, according to Dietcher, and a comprehensive look is critical to good outcomes.
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"In between appointments, employees also have unlimited chat messaging with our dermatology providers," Dietcher says. "We want patients to be able to ask 'I want to try this new moisturizer, do you think this works for me? Do you have any concerns?' There are so many quick moments every day that you want to be able to have access to care. That doesn't exist anywhere [else] today in the world of dermatology."
For benefit providers, whether they're in the market for a new service or not, Deitcher urges them to take a closer look at their pharmaceutical data. Leaders should be taking note of how much they may already be spending on dermatology treatments and medications and evaluate whether investing in an additional benefit could serve as a solution.
"Inneffective dermatology care is leading employees to have worse skin issues that could keep them from coming to work and being their best selves," Deitcher says. "It should be a core tenant for everyone in the industry that the benefits you offer need to actually benefit employees."
