ALBURY-Wodonga's only full-time skin specialist has called for government incentives to attract more dermatologists to regional areas.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Gordon Rennick compared the lack of skin doctors to the shortage of teachers which this week prompted the Victorian government to offer up to $50,000 for city educators to go bush.
"We don't think you can conscript people, there's limitations on free trade, you can't force people, but we need some sort of encouragement or incentive," Dr Rennick said.
He suggested a monetary boost could be offered to those that practice 100, 150 or 200 kilometres from metropolitan areas.
Dr Rennick, who is in his 60s, is contemplating retirement and suspects there will be no-one to take his place.
"It's possible something might change, but at the moment there's nothing on the horizon," he said.
"I've been doing it for 13 years and had trainees for 10 years and there's been no interest so far."
The West Albury specialist has hosted three different trainees from Melbourne for six weeks annually and none of them have ended up practising in rural areas.
Dr Rennick said across Australia there were 621 dermatologists and only eight per cent were in regional settings.
He has joined colleagues at Orange this weekend as part of the Australian College of Dermatologists' sixth biennial meeting to discuss the shortage.
Dr Rennick said it was forecast that by 2030 an extra 10 dermatologists would be needed to enter the sector each year to meet interest which is already high.
"I could work 24 hours a day, seven days a week and not meet the demands," he said.
About two-thirds of Dr Rennick's work is related to skin cancer, with the remainder involving complaints such as acne, eczema and psoriasis.
He said a government push for increased telemedicine, with specialists in capital cities assessing those in regions, failed to take account of the technology's shortcomings.
"With making a diagnosis of a skin problem you can't do it on a blurry screen, even the best resolution makes it very hard," Dr Rennick said.
"You need to be there in person to examine the skin."
The federal government hopes to address the issue through its National Medical Workforce Strategy which involves consultation with peak groups such as the college of dermatologists.
