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Creams, ointments and solutions applied to the skin surface by patients as part of a daily routine might be expected to provide a more variable dosage than do standard tablets. However, adherence to treatment in dermatology has been little studied. This article reviews recent publications in the field. These are dominated by questionnaire-based studies, which tend to over-estimate adherence. Reduced adherence to dermatological treatment is noted in 34-45% of patients. It is likely that the percentage of patients who practice truly optimal treatment in their daily life is even lower considering the variable practice of self-treatment. Self-reported psychiatric morbidity contributes to poor adherence to dermatological treatment, while a well-functioning doctor-patient interaction is a major determinant of good adherence, as is patient satisfaction. In conclusion, adherence to dermatological treatment is unsatisfactory and there is a need for intervention and change in clinical routines. The therapeutic and economic benefits may be considerable. The immediate challenge is to stimulate a change in patient behaviour and improve self-treatment at home.

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Effectively co-ordinated treatment support from healthcare providers (doctors, nurses and pharmacists) may improve patients' adherence to treatment. The objective of this study was to identify patients' and providers' perceptions of the roles of different healthcare providers in dermatological treatment. Focus groups were used in two types of fora: patients with chronic dermatological diseases (n =2x6) and healthcare providers (n =2x6), including doctors, nurses and pharmacists working in dermatological care. Data were analysed according to the Consensual Qualitative Research approach. The respondents viewed the roles of the providers as complementary, but poorly co-ordinated. Treatment support is provided mainly by the nurse. During the doctor's appointment, diagnosis and treatment decisions are often prioritized, leaving limited time for treatment support. The pharmacist's provision of support is constrained by the lack of privacy and clinical history of individual patients. The most apparent "gap" in the chain of treatment support was between the pharmacist and the other providers. There was a wish for improved interprofessional collaboration to avoid giving conflicting advice. There is a need to improve interprofessional collaboration in dermatology, in order to optimize treatment support in clinical practice.

Patients and providers made several suggestions for improving everyday life. Future research needs to focus on how to achieve preference-matched shared decision-making, or concordance, between patients and health-care providers, taking different perspectives into account and how to evaluate the effect of the final, clinical, economical and humanistic outcomes of care and treatment. More seamless care and an increasingly shared understanding between patients and providers of their values, expectations and preferences for care and treatment may contribute to better health and better daily lives for patients.

Tumour thickness was found to be the predominant risk factor for recurrence. The prognostic factors for recurrence coincided with prognostic factors for CMM death. The most common site of first recurrence in stages I-II CMM is regional lymph node (42.8%) closely followed by distant metastases (37.6%), a fact which has to be taken into consideration when choosing follow-up strategies.

Dermatological diseases have an important influence on patients' quality of life. Attending an outpatient treatment unit was in this series of cases associated with improved quality of life as measured with the DLQI.