The Distinctive Dermatologist

Clinical expertise is essential. But what makes patients choose your practice, trust your team, and recommend you to others?

In this encore video episode of one of the most downloaded episodes of The Distinctive Dermatologist in our four-year history, Scott McKain shares highlights from a keynote presentation based on his book, ICONIC, connecting the principles of distinction to the everyday work of building an exceptional dermatology practice.

Explore how patient experience, team engagement, and a clear sense of what your practice stands FOR can help you earn trust, encourage referrals, and sustain relevance.

Whether you're watching for the first time or revisiting these ideas, consider one question: What does your practice want to be known for—and how consistently do patients experience it?

Share this episode with your dermatologists, practice managers, administrators, and care teams to start a conversation about creating a more memorable and meaningful patient experience.

Our thanks to SkinCure Oncology and GentleCure for sponsoring The Distinctive Dermatologist.

Subscribe for more conversations about distinction, leadership, and the patient experience—and share the podcast with a colleague.

When someone is diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancer, who should decide how it's treated?

Kerwin Brandt, CEO of SkinCure Oncology, makes the case that when an effective non-surgical option exists, the choice belongs to the patient.

Scott and Kerwin explore:

• What patients should ask about non-surgical treatment, and what dermatologists should be telling them
• Why image guidance changes outcomes in superficial radiation therapy
• The "laser graveyard," and why so much expensive equipment ends up unused in the back of the practice
• Why Kerwin believes the standard of care for skin cancer is about to shift, just as it did for breast and prostate cancer
• Technology on the horizon that could show patients exactly what surgery would involve before they decide

If you lead a dermatology practice, this episode leaves you with a question worth asking: is every patient hearing about every appropriate option before a decision is made?

Full disclosure: SkinCure Oncology, the company behind GentleCure, sponsors The Distinctive Dermatologist.

This episode is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Patients should discuss treatment options with their physician.

What makes excellent dermatologic care feel excellent to a patient?

Michael has spent more time in dermatology offices than he ever wanted to. He describes the frustration of repeated visits, long waits, and feeling like a number—and how a simple update from a staff member could change that experience.

Dr. Bob Haber, Dr. Billie Cassé, and Dr. Douglass Forsha offer their perspectives on adapting care to the person, listening with intention, and building a practice where patients feel known and respected. Together, their conversations reveal how much patients remember beyond the treatment itself.

The Distinctive Dermatologist is hosted by Scott McKain. Thanks to our sponsor, GentleCure from SkinCure Oncology—tough on cancer, easy on skin.

What does your practice stand for—and where can a patient see it?

From the first phone call to a conversation about treatment options, every interaction gives your team an opportunity to earn trust.

In this special episode of The Distinctive Dermatologist, host Scott McKain brings together highlights from three conversations with Dr. Rania Agha, Dr. Billie Casse, and Dr. Bob Haber to explore how exceptional practices make their commitment to patients tangible.

You'll hear:

• Why the patient experience begins before anyone enters the exam room.
• How kindness, respect, and intentional hiring shape a practice's culture.
• Why explaining appropriate treatment options and welcoming questions matters.
• How thoughtful referrals demonstrate a commitment to the patient's interests.
• Why the human connection remains central as technology evolves.

Scott closes with a simple exercise your team can use to identify—and act on—one opportunity to improve the patient experience this week.

It's no longer about standing out—it's about what you stand FOR.

The Distinctive Dermatologist is brought to you by GentleCure from SkinCure Oncology. GentleCure...tough on cancer, easy on skin. Our thanks for your continued support of this program.

What does your practice stand for—and where can a patient see it?

From the first phone call to a conversation about treatment options, every interaction gives your team an opportunity to earn trust.

In this special episode of The Distinctive Dermatologist, host Scott McKain brings together highlights from three conversations with Dr. Rania Agha, Dr. Billie Casse, and Dr. Bob Haber to explore how exceptional practices make their commitment to patients tangible.

You'll hear:

• Why the patient experience begins before anyone enters the exam room.
• How kindness, respect, and intentional hiring shape a practice's culture.
• Why explaining appropriate treatment options and welcoming questions matters.
• How thoughtful referrals demonstrate a commitment to the patient's interests.
• Why the human connection remains central as technology evolves.

Scott closes with a simple exercise your team can use to identify—and act on—one opportunity to improve the patient experience this week.

It's no longer about standing out—it's about what you stand FOR.

The Distinctive Dermatologist is brought to you by GentleCure from SkinCure Oncology. GentleCure...tough on cancer, easy on skin. Our thanks for your continued support of this program.

Two of the most distinctive dermatologists we've featured on this program took very different paths to get where they are now. Dr. Rania Agha of Summit Dermatology in Oak Brook, Illinois, immigrated to the United States and spent seventeen years in training. Dr. Billie Casse of Reno, Nevada, was going to be a professional dancer until a hip disease at age ten changed everything.

And yet they arrived at exactly the same place: a practice built on what the leader stands for.

This week, Scott McKain brings the best of both conversations together in a single episode. You'll hear how each of them found her calling, the mentors who shaped them (including a lesson from Dr. Bill Beeson that changed how Dr. Agha practices medicine to this day), and why both doctors, without prompting, said the patient experience starts at the front desk — not in the exam room.

Along the way:

• Why Dr. Agha tells her staff "no patient, no practice" and "one patient lost is a thousand patients lost"
• The "Vice President of First Impressions" and why the title matters
• What Dr. Casse means when she says patients should feel like they're home
• How skin health shapes mental health, and why patients come in for "peace of mind," not a skin check
• Where dermatology is headed — and why AI will assist the dermatologist but never replace the human touch

If you lead a practice, this one comes with a challenge: walk in tomorrow morning as if you'd never been there before, and ask whether what happens at the front of your practice stands for what you say you stand for.

The Distinctive Dermatologist is brought to you by GentleCure from SkinCure Oncology. GentleCure: tough on cancer, easy on skin. Learn more at GentleCure.com.

What makes a dermatology practice truly distinctive?

Sometimes, it's not a dramatic innovation or an expensive investment. It's the accumulation of thoughtful details that tell patients, we cared enough to think about your experience.

In this encore presentation of one of our popular conversations, Scott McKain talks with Dr. Douglass Forsha about the distinctive practice he created in the Salt Lake City area—and the thinking behind an environment that has earned considerable attention from patients and visitors alike.

Dr. Forsha shares how seemingly simple decisions about design, artwork, lighting, finishes, fresh flowers, and other details helped create an office that feels different from the moment patients arrive. Perhaps most importantly, his experience demonstrates that creating a remarkable environment doesn't necessarily require an extravagant budget. It requires intention.

The conversation offers a valuable reminder for every dermatology practice: patients experience far more than the clinical care you provide. They notice the surroundings. They notice the details. They notice how the practice makes them feel.

Clinical excellence may be the foundation, but the total experience can help determine what patients remember, what they tell others, and whether they enthusiastically recommend your practice.

It's a conversation worth hearing again—and an invitation to look at your own practice through the eyes of the patient.

Our thanks to GentleCure from SkinCure Oncology for its continued sponsorship of The Distinctive Dermatologist and for supporting our mission to help dermatology practices create exceptional experiences for the patients they serve.

The Example You Set: Purpose, Mentorship, and Patient Experience

What makes a dermatologist—or a dermatology practice—truly memorable? Clinical expertise matters, but patients and colleagues also remember how you communicate, how you respond when circumstances become difficult, and the example you set every day.

On this episode of The Distinctive Dermatologist, host Scott McKain explores the connection between patient experience, personal purpose, and professional example.

Author and business consultant Joe Calloway shares his perspective as both a customer-experience expert and a dermatology patient. He explains why patients compare their dermatology practice not only with other healthcare providers but also with every organization that provides them with an exceptional experience. From the website and telephone call to the way an appointment delay is handled, every interaction shapes the patient's confidence.

Dr. Douglass Forcha discusses his unexpected path into medicine and dermatology—and the deeply personal experience that helped inspire his career. When his mother became terminally ill, her physician continued to visit and care for her. Although the outcome could not change, the doctor's compassion made an impression that lasted for decades.

Dr. Rania Agha shares how extraordinary mentors influenced her development as a dermatologist, surgeon, educator, and patient advocate. She recalls an important lesson from Dr. William Beeson: skill can make someone a good surgeon, but a great surgeon must also know how to manage complications.

The central message is simple: Most of us can remember someone whose example expanded our idea of who we could become. Eventually, the challenge is no longer merely to admire that example—it is to become it for our teams, our colleagues, and our patients.

Your reason for doing this work becomes most powerful when others can see it reflected in the way you do the work.

Our thanks to GentleCure, sponsor of The Distinctive Dermatologist.

The Distinctive Dermatologist is hosted by Scott McKain, CSP, CPAE.

What makes a great patient experience? It's more than a welcoming staff, convenient scheduling, or an efficient appointment. One of the most important questions may be: Did the patient have a meaningful voice in their own care?

On this episode of The Distinctive Dermatologist, Scott McKain explores why patient choice is an essential—and sometimes overlooked—part of the patient experience.

You'll hear directly from Mike, a skin cancer patient, about his experience and what mattered to him when considering treatment. Laura Billet of GentleCure shares insights about what patients expect from their interactions with dermatologists, while Adam Lefton of GentleCure examines what happens when patients are offered only the treatment their physician or practice provides.

Finally, Kerwin Brandt, CEO and co-founder of SkinCure Oncology, shares the remarkable patient experience that helped inspire the creation of the company—and explains why listening to what patients want can be more than the right thing to do. Happier, more engaged patients can become loyal advocates who generate positive reviews, referrals, and practice growth.

The central message is simple:

The best patient experience isn't created by deciding for the patient. It's created by caring enough to decide with the patient.

This is because the treatment conversation isn't separate from the patient experience. It is part of the patient experience.

Our thanks to the sponsor of The Distinctive Dermatologist, GentleCure, helping dermatology practices provide Image-Guided Superficial Radiation Therapy (IG-SRT) as a non-surgical treatment option for appropriate patients with non-melanoma skin cancer

What makes one dermatology practice feel ordinary — while another becomes memorable?

On this episode of The Distinctive Dermatologist, Scott McKain explores the details that can transform a clinic from simply a place where patients receive treatment into an experience that earns their loyalty, repeat visits, and referrals.

Dr. Douglass Forsha shares the story behind his distinctive Salt Lake City-area practice, including how thoughtful design, artwork, fresh flowers, and attention to seemingly small details can create an environment patients notice and remember.

Then, Laura Billet, Director of Brand Strategy and Marketing for SkinCure Oncology, draws upon years of visiting dermatology and plastic surgery practices across the country to reveal what she has observed in the practices that get the patient experience right.

The conversation explores everything from the importance of the front desk and employee onboarding to better communication when physicians are running behind, easier appointment scheduling, technology, consistent branding, and the importance of dermatologists remaining curious about new treatments and innovations.

And perhaps most importantly, there's no single formula for creating a distinctive practice. What matters is intentionally creating an experience that reflects who you are, what you stand for, and how you want patients to feel.

Because patients notice the details — and those details can influence whether they return, refer others, and become advocates for your practice.

Our thanks to GentleCure from SkinCure Oncology for its continued sponsorship of The Distinctive Dermatologist and for supporting our mission to help dermatology practices create exceptional experiences for the patients they serve.

GentleCure — Tough on Cancer. Gentle on Skin.