Should Board Certification Be a Requirement to Practice Mohs Surgery?

A group of dermatologists have filed a class-action lawsuit against the American Board of Medical Specialties and the American Board of Dermatology for allegedly creating a Mohs Surgery Board that would require dermatologists to be board certified in order to conduct the procedure.

Currently, physicians are able to complete a Mohs surgery fellowship but don’t need board certification to perform the surgery. Mohs surgery involves slicing away at the cancerous area of the skin in thin layers and examining it for cancer cells. The process is continued until all of the cancerous cells have been removed.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs are accusing the board organizations of conspiring “with other medical specialty organizations, with individual physicians, and with others, to limit the number of physicians who are ‘board certified’ to perform Mohs surgery and thus are allowed to bill and collect for performing the Mohs surgery procedure on patients who need it.”

Mohs surgery was started by Frederic Mohs, MD, who treated his first patient in 1936 who had squamous cell cancer on their lower lip. The longevity of the practice could have physicians concerned about the possible regulation. “It’s incredibly contentious and it's unprecedented because opponents say ‘when was last time there was a subspecialty created after a procedure?’ said Orlando-based dermatologist J. Matthew Knight, MD for the Orlando Sentinel. “It's split down the middle in our specialty,” said Knight who no longer practices Mohs surgery.