“Awesome” and “amazing” are the two words that appear most often in Yelp reviews of Dr. Cotliar almost without exception, patients describe this pediatric dermatologist as knowledgeable and personable and able to explain their child’s skin condition in terms that are easy to understand. Better still, they say, he’s willing to spend time with them to explain what is happening and how to best treat it.

Dr. Cotliar is a rarity – a physician who specializes in treating skin disorders in the smallest of patients. Pediatric dermatology was not identified as a subspecialty until 2004, when he became one of the very first physicians to be formally certified. Still today, he’s one of fewer than 240 board-certified pediatric dermatologists nationwide, and is consistently voted one of the Best Doctors in America.

“Dermatology is a visual specialty,” he explains. “It’s perfect for teleconsults and I believe will be the model for the future as we provide specialty care to patients in remote locations who otherwise could not access it or who would have a long wait for an appointment.”

Case in point: He and a few other DirectDerm physicians recently used the visual technology to assist a physician in Haiti who was on a mission trip and needed the expertise of highly specialized dermatologists.