In a survey designed to elicit information about how clinics dedicated to skin of color (SoC) are organized and deliver care, the diversity of responses likely reflects the fact that they were developed independently in the absence of templates or standards.

Because a robust literature on SoC clinics is lacking, this survey was conducted to understand what has been done thus far by looking at practical issues such as workflow, patient referral, the conditions most often treated, and common challenges, said Stella X. Chen, MD, faculty member at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona.

The survey results were presented at the Skin of Color Society (SOCS) Annual Scientific Symposium 2026, held the day before the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. Vivian Iloabuchi, BS, fourth-year medical student at Mayo Clinic’s Alix School of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, was the first author.

“One of the most surprising findings was how these clinics have emerged with very little institutional support,” said Chen, who found that only one of 19 clinics providing data received any funding from the parent center, and most received no help of any kind, including protected time or administrative support.

The survey went to board-certified dermatologists who self-identified as delivering SoC care. Of the 72 participants, 19 (26%) reported that they participated in dedicated SoC clinics. Most of these clinics (70%) were in academic centers. The remainder were in community hospitals (20%) or private or group practices (10%).

By race, half of the respondents self-identified as Black. Most of the others self-identified as White or Asian, almost evenly split. The median number of years since residency was 10 years. Nearly half (48.6%) reported receiving at least some SoC-specific curricula during their training.

Many clinics included “skin of color” in the name of the clinic, but a wide range of other terms, such as multicultural, ethnic, or multiethnic, were used to identify the service as one providing care to non-White patients. The clinics functioned for a median of four half-days per month.

Fewer than half of the clinics had established any presence on the internet, whether independently or as part of the parent institution’s website. The two most common ways for patients to find the SoC clinic were by internal referrals or requests specifically made by patients for SoC care. For 25% of the clinics, no promotion was used at all to draw attention to the service, the survey found.

The fact that most SoC clinics did little promotion and no advertising suggests that “there is ample need and patient volume for SoC clinics,” Chen noted.

When asked to name the three most common SoC-based complaints, the most common response, given by 27.4% of respondents, was pigmentary disorders such as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, melasma, and dyschromia. Alopecia (20.7%) and acne (17.3%) were the next most common responses listed, but other conditions typical of patients with SoC, such as atopic dermatitis, hidradenitis suppurativa, keloids, vitiligo, and psoriasis, were also listed.

Most clinics (69%) offered cosmetic or laser services. Of those offering cosmetic services, these procedures represented less than 25% of SoC care, reported Chen, who was the senior author of the study.

According to the respondents, Black patients represented more than half (56%) of those seeking care from an SoC provider. The reported representation of other groups was led by Latinx/Hispanic patients (26%), followed by mixed race (12.5%), Southeast Asian (11%), Asian or Pacific Islander (8.3%), and Middle Eastern (6.9%) patients.

According to respondents working in SoC clinics, the greatest strength of these dedicated programs, cited by 44%, is provider expertise in SoC, followed by access to specialized treatments for SoC. The opportunity to provide medical education to trainees and the value of culturally competent care were also listed as strengths.

The most common challenges identified were the need for interpreters, the limited number of options for treating many SoC complaints, reimbursement hurdles, and a lack of institutional support.

Recruitment for participation in this survey was conducted through a posting on the SOCS website, through a listserv maintained by the National Medical Society, and by contacting the director of every residency program in the US, Chen told Medscape Medical News.

According to Chen, there is clearly a need and a demand for SoC-dedicated care even if no formal studies have attempted to define how this is best delivered.

“When we looked to see what information is already available, we found very little,” said Chen, adding that more details about the study can be found in a paper published shortly before the SOCS’s annual meeting.

Overall, the survey was designed to address an important knowledge gap, Chen said. Although she acknowledged that there might not be one best framework for an SoC-dedicated clinic due to different regional needs and priorities, she said, “It would be helpful to know what is out there.”

It is not clear how many formal SoC programs exist. This survey, completed anonymously, might be more of a snapshot than broadly representative, but Chen believes it provides a step toward addressing the current knowledge gap.

Chen and Iloabuchi reported having no potential conflicts of interest.