Need-To-Know Acne Pearls From Joshua Zeichner, MD

Joshua Ziechner, MD, spoke with Dermatology Times® at the 2023 Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference for PAs and NPs to discuss his best acne treatment pearls during the “15 Tips in 15 Minutes” session. Zeichner, associate professor of dermatology and director of cosmetic and clinical research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, presented alongside Mark Lebwohl, MD, the dean for clinical therapeutics, chairman emeritus of the Kimberly and Eric J. Waldman department of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

As a leading acne treatment expert, Zeichner reviewed his best treatment pearls for achieving cleared skin among his patients, as well as the importance of listening to his patient’s concerns to determine what treatment option will benefit them most.

Transcript

Zeichner: My name is Josh Zeichner. I'm an associate professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

Dermatology Times: What are 3 acne treatment pearls from your session, "15 Tips in 15 Minutes?"

Zeichner: I just gave a session at the Fall Clinical Meeting for NP and PAs here in Orlando, on tips in treating our acne patients. So I'll give you 3 of our top tips. Number one, you want to make sure that you're treating patients with combination therapies using different ingredients that have complementary mechanisms of action. The goal of treating our acne patients is to address as many pathogenic factors at the same time. Next, you want to hit patients hard from the beginning using multiple agents. If you start with one product, and then add another product later, it's not as effective as giving the patients all of those different ingredients right from the get-go. And finally, you want to involve patients in decision-making. You want to make sure that the patient is on board with your treatment regimen. If the patient is not interested in taking an oral medication, you need to find that out and you don't want to push that on a patient. If a patient agrees with the plan, and is willing to participate in the plan, ultimately, they're going to have better outcomes.

Dermatology Times: What is the value of a meeting like Fall Clinical that brings together dermatologists, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners?

Zeichner: I think there's huge value in bringing NPs and PAs to educational meetings alongside dermatologists so we can educate all health care providers who are treating our patients with skin conditions.

[Transcript edited for clarity]