AaronM.SecrestMDPhD MBA

Summary

• I am an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Departments of Dermatology and Population Health Sciences at the University of Utah. I recently started a two-year sabbatical working as a senior medical officer in dermatology at Christchurch Hospital in New Zealand to experience a national healthcare system firsthand. I recently stepped down as Vice Chair for Business Strategy for Dermatology at the University of Utah. My U.S. clinic was in Farmington, Utah at the Farmington Health Center next to Station Park, with a focus on optimal patient outcomes using cost-effective care.
  
  My clinical and research focus has been understanding what matters most to my patients and how my patients' skin issues affect their quality of life. To help me, I encourage my patients to complete a quality-of-life assessment called Skindex-16 at every visit. Skindex-16 asks questions to help me and my patients understand how their skin issues are affecting their symptoms, their emotions, and their ability to function. Skindex-16 is particularly useful because it helps me track how my patients feel their skin issues doing - are they getting better or worse over time? My patients can request copies of their Skindex-16 scores at any time to see how they are doing. See my website: www.dermproconsortium.org for more information.
  
  I completed an MBA in 2020 at the University of Utah to help me understand the business side of medicine to try to find ways to help improve how healthcare works in the U.S. I am keenly aware of how insurance companies are changing over the years, often requiring patients to pay for more of their care and their treatments out-of-pocket. I spend time trying to identify the most cost-effective care for my patients, even if that means the best treatment is over-the-counter.