Though public health officials are urging medical practices to use virtual patient visits to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, a surprising number of dermatology offices, many of them owned by private equity investment firms, remain open for in-person skin checks and other nonurgent services.

Many dermatologists have closed their offices, instead examining rashes and skin growths via Zoom, FaceTime and photos. But in a study to be published by the Journal of Dermatological Treatment, a group of researchers at the University of Cincinnati called 60 dermatology practices on March 23, when California, Illinois, New Jersey and New York already had stay-at-home restrictions in place, to see if they were open. Of the 55 dermatology practices they reached in six states, 29 said they were open to all patients. Seventeen said they were open only to urgent visits, and nine said they were closed to all patients.

This week, with most of the country under shelter-in-place orders, The New York Times found practices large and small still scheduling in-person visits.

Decisions to keep dermatology offices open for all but the most urgent visits ignore guidelines issued last month by the American Academy of Dermatology, which recommended rescheduling visits for all nonessential medical or surgical visits or, alternatively, offering telemedicine services.