Burden, bench, and bedside: Patient-centered care requires patient-centered research

Abstract

lightly more than 6 years ago, the Society for The goal of the meeting was to construct a frameS Investigative Dermatology (SID) and the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) partnered to publish a report describing the impact of skin disease. We jointly funded this studyewhich used administrative databases to estimate the direct annual financial cost of skin disease in the United Stateseultimately published as ‘‘The Burden of Skin Diseases’’ in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology in 2006. The work was important for a number of reasons, one of which was ushering in a period of more effective partnerships between these two key organizations. Over the ensuing years the SID and the AAD have explored new and exciting ways to partner in selective activities that advance themissions that we share. As a next step to build upon the original Burden Project, the AAD and the SID hosted a follow-up event, the Comorbidity Project, in the fall of 2008. We brought together multiple stakeholders to discuss and identify priorities and gaps in research and clinical care. This stand-alone meeting was followed up with additional conjoint meetings at the SID Annual Meetings in 2009 and 2010. The theme of the 2010 meeting reflected the philosophy of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology Editor, Paul Bergstresser, who designated 2010 as the ‘‘Year of the Patient’’ emphasizing a common coremission of both the AAD and the SID to prevent and treat skin disease and to improve the quality of life of patients affected by skin disorders.