Background: Treatment for skin cancer is a major component of dermatological care in western countries.
Objective: The purpose of this work is to analyze health care provision and providers for skin cancer care in Germany.
Methods: From the complete claims data set from 2007-2009 of the German statutory health insurance DAK (approximately 6.1 million insured persons), insurees with skin cancer and melanocytic naevi were extracted by ICD-10 codes. Surgical procedures and physician specialties were identified by specific codes. Data from the German statistical agency (Destatis) were derived from public domain for the years 2008-2010.
Results: Among the annual ambulatory surgical treatments (n = 6695) for melanoma, 83.6 % were conducted by dermatologists, followed by general surgeons (11.1 %), and facial surgeons (3.0 %). In melanocytic naevi (n = 51,659), 79.1 % were treated by dermatologists, followed by general surgeons (15.5 %), facial surgeons (3.6 %), and general practitioners (1.1 %), while in epithelial cancers (ICD-10 C44), 76.4 % were operated by dermatologists, followed by general surgeons (12.7 %) and facial surgeons (7.9 %). Overall, related to Germany, about 830,000 ambulatory operations for skin cancer were conducted in 2009 which is about 40 % more than in 2007. In hospitalized patients, 79,448 out of 195,558 inpatient cases (45.5 %) were treated in dermatological departments in the year 2012. Average annual growth rates of the inpatient cases in the DAK between 2007 and 2010 were 8.9 % for MM and 11.1 % for SCC/BCC.
Conclusion: Skin cancer is associated with a significant and still growing need for surgical care in which dermatology has a leading role in Germany. Thus, there is an increasing need for dermato-surgical specialist training.
Keywords: Basal cell carcinoma; Dermatologists; Melanoma; Squamous cell carcinoma; Surgical procedures, operative.