Joseph Gatti, DMSc, MPAS, MBA, PA-C, is the founder of the Clinic for Dermatology & Wellness, LLC, and Pure Medspa, LLC. 

Joseph Gatti, DMSc, MPAS, MBA, PA-C

AI’s Use in Non-Patient-Facing Dermatology Spaces, With Joseph Gatti, DMSc, MPAS, MBA, PA-C

2025 Society of Dermatology Physician Associates (SDPA) Fall Conference

 in San Antonio, the HCPLive team interviewed Joseph Gatti, DMSc, MPAS, MBA, PA-C, the founder of The Clinic for Dermatology & Wellness, LLC, regarding his presentation from a session at the meeting.

Following his session, titled ‘The Productive PA: Smart Scheduling & Contract Essentials for Early Career Success,’ the team asked Gatti a variety of questions regarding the next 5 - 10 years of progress in medical technology regarding the future of dermatology for physicians as well as physician associates (PAs).

“I am old enough as a provider to remember when GE Centricity and Digital Radiology came out,” Gatti said. “I remember when I was training with radiologists, doing all my PA rotations, where some of the plain film adherents were saying, ‘It will never go away and we'll always have plain film.’ You can't even find plain X-ray film anymore. I mean, heck, Kodak is basically out of business. The reality is, it's almost all pure digital. I remember that transition.”

Gatti added that his clinic, The Clinic for Dermatology & Wellness, was one of the first clinics in the country that made the move to digital pathology. These trends, Gatti noted, are going to continue.

“I mentioned this earlier, in the last Mayo Clinic melanoma update, the Mayo Clinic and a lot of these major world-leading hospitals are doing digital pathology,” Gatti explained. “The reality is these things are going to continue. And you might ask yourself, ‘Why is that happening?’ You have to remember that a lot of these large hospitals are also partnering with AI. The Mayo Clinic is one of the foremost…They're working to train AI on lesion detection.”

Gatti also noted his view on AI being trained in pathology and radiology. In his discussion, Gatti expressed his belief in embracing the future and accepting change.

“The studies have been going on for years, and the results are pretty impressive,” Gatti said. “So, where do I think AI is coming? Pure specialties that are non-patient-facing. Pathologists and radiologists are going to be heavily impacted. To pretend that they won't is foolish, because that is huge cost savings in our medical system. I'm not for it because I think humans need to be involved, and I think that they will be. But how much? I don't think anyone really knows, and that's going to be up to lawmakers and regulators.”

View Gatti’s full video above to learn more. For any additional information on this topic or related topics, view the 

 of the Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference.

The quotes contained in this summary were edited for clarity.

Gatti had no relevant financial disclosures of note.

Gatti J. The Productive PA: Smart Scheduling & Contract Essentials for Early Career Success. Presented at the Society of Dermatology Physician Associates (SDPA) Fall Conference, November 5-9, San Antonio, TX.

Videos

This interview at SDPA highlights Gatti's views on the impact of technology on radiology, pathology, and dermatology.

Is Social Media Necessary for Dermatology Clinicians? With Joseph Gatti, DMSc, MPAS, MBA, PA-C

 in San Antonio, Texas, Joseph Gatti, DMSc, MPAS, MBA, PA-C, the founder of The Clinic for Dermatology & Wellness, LLC, spoke in an interview with 

Gatti highlighted takeaways from his session, ‘The Productive PA: Smart Scheduling & Contract Essentials for Early Career Success,’ and in this segment of his interview, he discussed whether or not clinicians should have a social media presence.

 Gatti touched on his own views on social media’s use in dermatology, noting his own experiences with using it.

“I get a lot of questions like ‘You do a lot of things, Joe, but I don't see you on social media a whole lot,’” Gatti said. “I'm going to be honest with you, I hate social media with a passion. I don't have a private Instagram or Facebook anymore. While we do have a decent social media presence, particularly for our med spa, I don't enjoy doing all that stuff for the camera. Some people really do, and that's okay. But what people, a lot of providers, have a hard time with is the selling aspect. A lot of providers really struggle with that.”

Gatti’s advice to clinicians who are having difficulties in this area was to remove themselves from the idea of ‘selling’ on social media and remember that the purpose should be educating patients.

“Social media is a really, really good way to grow. That is 100% true, and it is a necessity these days,” Gatti explained. “But if you're someone who's got a full practice, your wait list is 2 to 4 months, you're scheduled and booked out for Botox, filler, and lasers at a med spa, and you're booked out 2 months, I don't necessarily see if social media is going to be a huge [need] for you, because you're already successful. Generally, our goal for a successful practice is usually 4 to 8 weeks out-booking.”

Gatti also commented on what he often observes among younger dermatologists in the dermatology industry, which is the need to be ‘social media famous.’

“You know, I see these young, beautiful men or women at AAD…and I also see a lot of them that are hocking for a company, this hair loss serum, this face cream, this La Roche Posay, this Johnson Johnson, the Cetaphil, and there's nothing wrong with that,” Gatti said. “A lot of us would always love to be able to augment our revenue. But what I would always tell you is to remember to take everything with a grain of salt…I'll get patients all the time who say, ‘I saw this dermatologist who was saying this,’ and I'm kind of thinking to myself, like, we've literally tried this product like three times, and all of our patients hated it.”

Gatti urged consumers and patients to be aware of ads and paid sponsorships even among clinicians. He also urged dermatology clinicians to recommend to their patients only what they have tried and only products showing positive results.

“Regardless of how you feel about whether or not you're going to participate in social media, you do need to remember how to educate your patient on things,” Gatti said. “...Remember, for a lot of people, especially younger people, if they're under the age of 40, there's a good chance they're getting a lot of their skin care techniques, even diagnoses, on social media. So it is something you need to be familiar with.”

Gatti also noted his own practice of being aware of online trends for the purposes of answering questions, to be familiar and conversant. This does not necessarily mean a clinician should feel the need to participate in social media, Gatti added.

The quotes used in this interview summary were edited for clarity.

Gatti had no relevant financial disclosures.

Gatti J. Essentials for Early Career Success Among Dermatology PAs, With Joseph Gatti, DMSc, MPAS, MBA, PA-C. HCPLive. November 12, 2025. Accessed November 13, 2025. 

https://www.hcplive.com/view/essentials-early-career-success-dermatology-pas-joseph-gatti-dmsc-mpas-mba-pa-c

Gatti highlights the role of social media in dermatology, noting its importance for business growth but emphasizing the need to focus on education.

Joseph Gatti, DMSc, MPAS, MBA, PA-C, the founder of The Clinic for Dermatology & Wellness, LLC, spoke in a Q&A interview with 

 in San Antonio regarding a session he had presented.

The session Gatti had presented was titled ‘The Productive PA: Smart Scheduling & Contract Essentials for Early Career Success.’ During the talk, Gatti highlighted several helpful tips for physician associates (PAs) early in their careers, first giving his view on different perceptions of the relationship between PAs and dermatologists. The following Q&A includes Gatti’s responses.

What would you say are some key takeaways from your session on redefining the modern PA-dermatologist partnership?

 For the dermatologist and the PA partnership, people need to remove ego out of it and remember that it really, truly is a partnership. Over the years, I've been doing this long enough that I remember the infamous New York Times article in 2017, where the past AAD president, Dr Coldiron, basically put a hit piece out [that was] anti-PAs, and it was traumatizing. There are some physicians out there who are just like, ‘PAs are horrible,’ and let's be honest, we know that that happens.

We know that this exists, but there are just as many, or more, physicians who love working with PAs. We bring expertise and an ability to grow the practice, grow the business, but also augment patient care. We have to be honest with each other that AAD and physicians in general have not grown enough physicians, and that's multi-specialty, specialty-wide. But obviously, the demand far outstrips supply. And PAs help millions of Americans every year.

What we all have to keep in mind is that this is a partnership. It is not a competition. It's not that one is better than the other. It should be that we both bring something unique and a very unique perspective to the battlefield…We both have a part to play, and as long as we respect each other and just remember that we're here for the same goal, treat patients, cure cancer. It is not about us; it's not about our ego. It's about helping the person in front of you. As long as we focus on the relationship we have with our physicians, it will be fantastic.

What are your thoughts on the DMSc degree for PAs, and what advice do you have for those who are interested?

 I know there are a lot of different thoughts out there about the Doctor of Medical Science degree for PAs, the equivalent for the Doctor of Nurse Practitionership for NPs, and the AMA titles and scope creep that we've seen out there. I am a DMSC holder. I did my degree at the University of Lynchburg, and what I would tell you is this: there is significant utility for the degree in patient care, but it's very specific.

For me, for PAs and NPs, the utility of this degree is not that I can call myself a doctor, now. That's not the utility. That also depends on the state you're practicing in. Oregon does allow it; Texas does not. But that's not the utility. I actually mostly still go by Joe with my patients, because I like to be informal. The utility of it is that my specific concentration was in administrative medicine.

I'm a practice owner. I own 3 different businesses. I do consulting. I own one of the largest med spas in the Pacific Northwest, and I own a dermatology practice. For me, administrative medicine makes sense because a lot of my time outside of patient care is managing multiple businesses and all the administration that goes with it.

So to me, the benefits of these degrees are for PAs wanting to leave clinical practice or augment beyond clinical practice. They want to be a medical science liaison for one of the pharmaceutical companies or they want to get into a management position at a hospital.

For those folks, these degrees make total sense, but…for the entry-level degree, I'm 100% against it. A lot of the people who are pushing it, I'm going to be frank, are heavily biased. Most of the people in the AAPA and other organizations are also adjunct professors at all these schools that are going to benefit.

…I think PAs across the board need to realize this degree change, for the average PA, will not change their practice. If you want to be called ‘Doctor’ and you're in a state that allows it, okay, maybe. Maybe that's worth it to you. But for new PAs, what this is going to do is add tens of thousands of dollars in costs. That's the truth.

The quotes used in this Q&A summary were edited for the purposes of clarity.

Articles

Joseph Gatti, founder of The Clinic for Dermatology & Wellness, emphasizes the importance of a collaborative partnership between physician associates (PAs) and dermatologists, advocating for mutual respect and shared goals in patient care. He discusses the utility of the Doctor of Medical Science (DMSc) degree for PAs, particularly for those pursuing administrative roles or transitioning beyond clinical practice. However, he cautions against the DMSc as an entry-level degree due to its financial burden and limited impact on clinical practice for most PAs.

This discussion at the SDPA Fall Conference highlights some scheduling and contract essentials for early career success among physician associates (PAs).