Briefly Noted

The Duty to Inspect Skin and Counsel Those at Risk for Melanoma

Commentary recently appeared in JAMA,1 written, presumably, in response to an article that appeared in the April Archives of Dermatology.2 This response goes far beyond simple commentary, serving as a call to arms to primary care physicians to examine and counsel patients with the greatest risk for melanoma. Within this category, the authors include patients who have had a melanoma, those with a family history of melanoma, men older than 55, and individuals with more than 50 melanocytic nevi. The authors provide an excellent, short statement with links to two websites where patients might obtain information on self-examination. This could be of great value not only to the primar…