Discussing AI Scribes and Improving Billing Practices in Dermatology, With Mark Kaufmann, MD

The 2026 Maui Derm Hawaii meeting by Mark Kaufmann, MD, a clinical professor in the Department of Dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, featured a session titled ‘How To Maximize Your Billing Effectiveness in the Era of Dwindling Reimbursements and ICD-10.’1

Kaufmann spoke in an on-site interview with HCPLive regarding this session and some of its biggest highlights, going in depth regarding tips for dermatology clinicians improving billing effectiveness and other helpful strategies related to ICD-10 codes.2 In this segment of his interview, Kaufmann spoke about tips for clinicians and about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) scribes.

“ICD-10s now may be getting us into some trouble, because companies are starting to down-code our claims and they're using the ICD-10s,” Kaufmann explained. “So they're basically saying, ‘You may think that that diagnosis deserves a level four code, but we're going to tell you it's only going to be a level three’...It's a very difficult thing to pick up sometimes, because it's easy to tell when someone tells you that they're not paying you for something, you get a zero on your explanation of benefit. But when someone's paying you less than you're billing for, that's more difficult to pick up.”

It is therefore important, Kaufmann put forth, to examine one’s explanation-of-benefits (EOBs). The lack of adequate payment may not be as visible. Later, Kaufmann was asked about the future of dermatology and any important information for clinicians in the coming months and years. Kaufmann advised clinicians to consider alternative revenue streams and also highlighted the value of AI scribes.

“You need to know which types of diagnoses and which types of words will trigger a change,” Kaufmann said. “And that's where the AI scribe comes in, where it actually knows which words change the complexity of the diagnosis.”

The quotes in this interview summary were edited for the purposes of clarity.

Kaufmann previously disclosed serving as a consultant for companies such as Apogee Therapeutics, Avita Medical, and Biofrontera, and he has held a position on the medical advisory board for Modernizing Medicine, Inc.

References

1. Kaufmann M, Siegel D. How To Maximize Your Billing Effectiveness in the Era of Dwindling Reimbursements and ICD-10. Presented at the 2026 Maui Derm Hawaii Conference, January 25-29.

2. Kaufmann M. Strategies on Maximizing Billing Effectiveness for Clinicians, With Mark Kaufmann, MD. HCPLive. February 12, 2026. Accessed February 13, 2026. https://www.hcplive.com/view/strategies-maximizing-billing-effectiveness-clinicians-mark-kaufmann-md.