Healthcare reform literacy among academic dermatologists: What we know and don't know about the Affordable Care Act.

IMPORTANCE: There have been no attempts to determinethe understanding of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)among dermatologists.

OBJECTIVE: Assess knowledgeof the ACA among academic dermatologists.

DESIGN: A 21-item survey was administered to membersof the Association of Professors of Dermatology(APD). The items assessed knowledge and opinionsof the ACA, and demographics of the participants.Multivariate regressions were conducted todetermine associations between variables.

PARTICIPANTS: Members of the Association of Professorsof Dermatology.

MAIN MEASURE: Knowledge of theACA.

RESULTS: One hundred and eight out of 368 APDmembers completed the survey (29.3%). Ninetysixpercent of responders practice in an academicsetting. Only 36 (33.3%) rated their knowledge of theACA as good/great, whereas 67 (62%) believed thatthe ACA will change their practice. The mean numberof knowledge questions correctly answered was 4.5out of 7 (64.3%). Dermatologists who reported thattheir knowledge of the bill was good/great (p=0.04)and procedural dermatologists (p= 0.04) answeredmore questions correctly. Compared to proceduraldermatologists, general dermatologists were morelikely to support the ACA (p=0.003) but less likely toanswer questions correctly.

CONCLUSION: There appearsto be knowledge gaps among dermatologists aboutthe ACA and discordance between support for andknowledge about the ACA. The need for educatingdermatologists on health care policies may warrantfurther investigation.