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How to get more skin check patients: a plan for dermatology practices

The glass front entrance of a dermatology practice

Adults ask dermatology practices for a skin check, also called a full-body skin exam, or to have a spot or a change on their skin looked at: online appointment requests, phone calls, follow-up visits and referrals from primary care. This guide covers the visit request and the front desk path; mole removal, actinic keratosis, seborrheic keratosis, age spot removal and cherry angioma patients have their own guides. The dermatologist or treating clinician (the clinician below) decides the plan, including whether anything should be done and what.

In short

  • Speak to adults who want a skin check or a spot looked at in plain, respectful words.
  • Keep landing pages plain: the visit, the clinician, the price, one way to book, no photos of skin or faces.
  • Book the visit with a short script that never names a condition or a treatment and never reassures.
  • Make referrals from primary care easy and pass every question about the skin to the clinical team.
  • Follow up with consent, without pressure, and track each request.
  1. SearchAn adult looks for care near them.
  2. Your pageWhat you treat, who sees them, one way to book.
  3. Call or formThey call or send a request.
  4. Front deskBooks the visit and never guesses a cause.
  5. Clinical teamThe clinician decides the plan.
How a new patient request reaches your practice.

1. Who the patients are and what they search for

Callers are adults 18 or over who want a skin check or want a spot or a change on their skin looked at. They search for a skin check, a skin exam, a dermatologist near them or a dermatologist to look at a spot.

Present the skin check simply: a visit where a clinician looks at the skin and at the patient’s concerns. Do not say what a skin check finds or does, and do not say who should have one or how often.

Only the clinician can say what a spot is. Staff never say a spot is or is not cancer, melanoma, a mole or precancer, never call it harmless, benign, probably nothing or nothing to worry about, and never say whether it needs a biopsy or removal.

Aim ads at adults only. Never target by sex, age, skin type or color, hair or eye color, sun exposure, sunburn history, family history or any health condition, and never build ads, audiences or keywords from those traits or other health information about a person.

2. Landing page basics

A skin check is a personal visit for many people. The page sells the visit, not a result.

  • Describe the visit in plain, respectful words. Use no before-and-after photos and no close-up photos of skin or faces.
  • Give the clinician’s name and real credentials.
  • Give a starting price and what it includes, or link the practice’s own price page. Self-pay patients may be entitled to a good faith estimate.
  • Show one way to book and one way to send a referral.

Never use fear, statistics or risk lists, name a condition or a treatment, or describe how one works. Never promise any result, and never promise that a spot will be found or ruled out.

Avoid “peace of mind”, “probably nothing”, “nothing to worry about”, “we will find it” and “insurance will cover it”. Better: “the clinician will look at your skin and at any spot you ask about, and answer your questions”.

3. The phone script

Staff never judge urgency, never ask what the caller thinks a spot is and never name a treatment; they collect answers and book.

  1. “Thanks for calling. May I take your name, your age and the reason for your visit?”
  2. “Is this a new visit or a follow-up, and did a doctor refer you? Please bring any notes from earlier care.”
  3. “A skin check starts at [price], as shown on our price page. Further care may be extra. We will check your plan, but cannot promise coverage.”
  4. Is it cancer, is this mole dangerous, do I need a biopsy, will you remove it, how often should I come, is a skin check covered, and what will it cost exactly? “We cannot tell that on the phone. The clinician looks at it at the visit, and our billing team can answer questions about cost and coverage.”
  5. “I can book your skin check now. May we text or email you about it?”

Book adults only. Pass any caller under 18, and any question on a spot or the skin itself, to the clinical team. Stay calm and respectful with a worried caller: do not judge and do not reassure. See the new patient phone script.

4. Routing and safety lines

MedlinePlus gives one routing sentence on its Skin Cancer page, quoted here whole. Quote nothing else from that page in ads.

It says: “You should have your doctor check any suspicious skin markings and any changes in the way your skin looks.”

A caller who reports a spot, a mark or any change in their skin is offered a visit and routed to the clinical team; staff never say why, never reassure and never judge urgency.

Give primary care offices that refer adults one simple way to send a referral, log each one and book the patient without delay.

Book any follow-up visit the clinician asks for before the patient leaves; staff never set the timing.

Text or email only with the patient’s own contact details and consent; see texting patients and the TCPA. Keep messages short and private, with no health details. Follow up without pressure (see consultation to treatment), never pay or take payment for referrals (see patient referrals for medical practices), and track each request from first contact to visit.

Where MediLeadGen fits

MediLeadGen sends practices requests from people interested in cash-pay elective treatments. Each request goes to one practice only, with the person’s consent naming that practice, at a fixed price per delivered request.

See how it works for practices

Questions practices ask

How do we get more skin check patients?

Answer quickly, give clear prices and real credentials, make referrals easy, keep claims inside the sources, and book a visit where the clinician decides the plan.

Can we tell callers what a spot is, or what should be done?

No. The dermatologist or treating clinician sees the patient and decides the plan, including whether anything should be done and what.

What if a caller says a spot has changed?

Offer a visit and pass them to the clinical team (see section 4). Staff never say why, never judge urgency and never reassure.

Does insurance pay for a skin check?

Coverage varies by plan. Check each patient’s plan, give self-pay patients a clear price, and do not promise coverage in ads or on the phone.

General information for practice teams, not legal or clinical advice. Check device labeling, FDA requirements, state rules and your advertising with counsel and your clinicians. Last reviewed November 2026.

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