Study: Doctors favoring Botox patients

A U.S. study says it is easier to get an appointment for a Botox shot for wrinkles than to see a doctor for what could be a cancerous mole.

A researcher called 898 dermatologists in 12 metropolitan areas, representing about one-tenth of practicing dermatologists in the United States. Half the doctors offered appointments for Botox. The median wait time for a Botox appointment was eight days, compared to a typical wait of 26 days for a patient requesting evaluation of a changing mole, The New York Times reported Monday.

The study is published online in the journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

"The difference in wait times between medical dermatology and cosmetic dermatology patients is clearly real," said Dr. Jack S. Resneck Jr., lead author and a professor at the medical school of the University of California, San Francisco. "We need to look further and figure out what is leading to shorter wait times for cosmetic patients."

Dermatologists in Miami and Orange County, Calif., were most likely to provide a Botox appointment with a short wait time, the study said.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International