About

Mark Joseph Eliason, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist with specialized interests in skin cancer and inflammatory diseases of the skin. He has completed a two-year fellowship in familial melanoma genetics and has published research in this area. Dr. Eliason sees patients for general dermatologic concerns and is recognized for his thorough, compassionate, and patient-centered approach. He is highly regarded for his ability to explain procedures clearly, his attentive care, and his dedication to follow-up and communication with patients. His expertise and caring manner have earned him a high patient rating and a reputation as a skilled and compassionate physician.

Research topics

• Medical emergency
• Emergency medicine
• Nursing
• Medicine
• Family medicine

Selected publications

• Administrative Burden and Costs of Prior Authorizations in a Dermatology Department

  JAMA Dermatology · 2020 · 50 citations

  • Medicine
  • Family medicine
  • Emergency medicine

  Importance: Insurance companies use prior authorizations (PAs) to address inappropriate prescribing or unnecessary variations in care, most often for expensive medications. Prior authorizations negatively affect patient care and add costs and administrative burden to dermatology offices. Objective: To quantify the administrative burden and costs of dermatology PAs. Design, Setting, and Participants: The University of Utah Department of Dermatology employs 2 full-time and 8 part-time PA staff. In this cross-sectional study at a large academic department spanning 11 clinical locations, these staff itemized all PA-related encounters over a 30-day period in September 2016. Staff salary and benefits were publicly available. Data were analyzed between December 2018 and August 2019. Main Outcomes and Measures: Proportion of visits requiring PAs, median administrative time to finalize a PA (either approval or denial after appeal), and median cost per PA type. Results: In September 2016, 626 PAs were generated from 9512 patient encounters. Staff spent 169.7 hours directly handling PAs, costing a median of $6.72 per PA. Biologic PAs cost a median of $15.80 each and took as long as 31 business days to complete. The costliest PA equaled 106% of the associated visit's Medicare reimbursement rate. Approval rates were 99.6% for procedures, 78.9% for biologics, and 58.2% for other medications. After appeal, 5 of 23 (21.7%) previously denied PAs were subsequently approved. Conclusions and Relevance: Prior authorizations are costly to dermatology practices and their value appears limited for some requests. Fewer unnecessary PAs and appeals might increase practice efficiency and improve patient outcomes.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• 247 The administrative burden and costs of prior authorizations in dermatology

  Journal of Investigative Dermatology · 2019-04-19

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Process of Post-operative Telephone Follow-up Implementation for Mohs Micrographic Surgery: A Pilot Study.

  PubMed · 2018-07-01 · 8 citations

  articleSenior author

  TFU is practical and efficient for assessing and mitigating MMS postoperative complications.

  Publisher

• Patient Preferences During Skin Cancer Screening Examination

  JAMA Dermatology · 2016-05-11 · 17 citations

  letterOpen access

  means for MASI were highest for those with severe MSS and the lowest for those with mild MSS (means: mild, 6.9 [95% CI, 4.9-8.8]; moderate, 12.4 [95 CI, 11.1-13.7]; severe, 20.2 [95% CI, 18.6-21.9]).

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Community perceptions about the use of black salve

  Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology · 2016-04-13 · 6 citations

  letterOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The effect of omalizumab dosing and frequency in chronic idiopathic urticaria: Retrospective chart review

  Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology · 2016-05-13 · 21 citations

  letterOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• How to reduce out-of-pocket costs for prescription medications

  Dermatology Online Journal · 2015-01-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The cost of prescription medicines has recently been rising faster than other healthcare costs. This is also true for traditionally inexpensive generic medications that have long served as a fundamental healthcare safety net in the USA. These changes increasingly present challenges for individuals to obtain common medications. Owing to rising insurance co-pays, even patients who have prescription medication insurance coverage are beginning to experience challenges in this area. This document was created to help patients and their families consider various strategies and programs that exist in 2015 for reducing their out-of-pocket costs for their prescription medications. We believe that this information can also be helpful to healthcare providers when counseling patients about managing rapidly rising prescription drug costs. An effort has been made to make this document readable to patients and their families as well as to healthcare providers.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Dermatological medication effects on male fertility

  Dermatologic Therapy · 2013-07-01 · 64 citations

  review

  Many drugs have been reported to impair semen parameters, leading to temporary or persistent infertility. Therefore, potential fathers may be concerned about the effect of medications on fertility. We searched the MEDLINE database of articles in English combining key terms including "male infertility," "spermatogenesis," "fertility," "drug effects," and "dermatology." Administration of methotrexate and finasteride has resulted in severe oligospermia and reversible infertility. Ketoconazole has had negative effects on sperm motility and testosterone production. Few individual case reports and a limited number of studies have demonstrated negative effects of tetracyclines, erythromycin, chloroquine, glucocorticoids, spironolactone, and antihistamines on fertility. It is important to counsel male patients when appropriate about the reversible negative effect on fertility when taking methotrexate and finasteride, and the adverse effect of ketoconazole. Patients may be reassured that taking oral retinoids, cyclosporine, azathioprine, and tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors should not affect their fertility.

  PublisherDOI

• A review of the clinical phenotype of 254 patients with genetically confirmed pachyonychia congenita

  Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology · 2012-01-22 · 143 citations

  review1st author
  PublisherDOI

• Treatment of chronic urticaria with colchicine.

  PubMed · 2011-12-01 · 37 citations

  article

  BACKGROUND: Chronic urticaria (CU) is a cutaneous disease that can be debilitating, difficult to treat, and sometimes life-threatening. Treatment with antihistamines is often ineffective. Immunosuppressants are second line therapy but can have significant side effects. Data is needed on effective therapies with safer profiles. OBJECTIVES: To determine the efficacy and side-effects of colchicine in patients with CU. METHODS: Patients were identified through retrospective chart reviews at the University of Utah from 2002-2007. We identified 36 patients with a diagnosis of chronic urticaria based on history, physical examination, and a skin biopsy. Length of treatment ranged from one month to 17 months. RESULTS: Subjective clinical responses to colchicine therapy reported as complete (n=15) or partial (n=5) were found in 56 percent of patients. The mean±SD duration of treatment was 7±6 months. Three patients (15%) who had resolution of urticaria stopped colchicine secondary to diarrhea and hematuria. Of the complete responders, nine individuals (60%) have remained symptom free and four individuals (27%) had recurrence after colchicine was stopped. LIMITATIONS: Short-term follow-up and retrospective study design. CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective study demonstrated that colchicine was an effective and well-tolerated treatment for patients unresponsive to antihistamines. The data supports the use of colchicine for CU patients and further controlled studies are warranted to better characterize the use of colchicine in patients with CU refractory to antihistamines.

  Publisher

Frequent coauthors

• Sancy A. Leachman

  Oregon Health & Science University

  17 shared

• Kristen Henry

  California Polytechnic State University

  11 shared

• David Johnson

  11 shared

• Frank Sebat

  Mercy Medical Center

  11 shared

• Amjad A. Musthafa

  American Association of Kidney Patients

  11 shared

• Andrew A. Kramer

  10 shared

• Debbie Shoffner

  American Association of Kidney Patients

  10 shared

• Bruce Spurlock

  University of California, San Francisco

  10 shared

Education

• M.D.

  University of Utah