Drug supply for psoriasis – results from a national pharmacy network

Abstract

Background: In Germany, drugs are to a large extent provided by pharmacies. Thus, investigations in pharmacies permit drug usage studies both on patients receiving prescribable drugs and using self-medication. The current study evaluated the quality of medical care, disease burden and spectrum of treatments for patients with psoriasis in a nationwide network of pharmacies. Patients and methods: A nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted in 61 pharmacies. Patients with psoriasis vulgaris who came to the pharmacy to obtain antipsoriatic drugs or basic ointments were consecutively recruited, interviewed and asked to complete a standardized questionnaire. The questionnaire focused on sociodemographic characteristics and prior therapies for psoriasis. Furthermore, data on the patient's treatment satisfaction, disease-related burden, and treatment adherence were evaluated. In addition, the proportion and significance of health care providers for psoriasis as well as the number of patients using self-medication were assessed. Results: The data on 241 patients show a high and long-lasting disease-related burden. A high utilization of resources was found. Dermatologists were the most frequently consulted providers (reported by 77.1 % of patients), followed by general practitioners (10.4 %). 3.5 % of patients were using self-medication. Self-reported adherence with treatment was moderate (71.6 %). Patient satisfaction varied considerably and demonstrated the need for improvement. Conclusions: Psoriasis is a socio-economically relevant disease. Health care is provided primarily by dermatologists. Surveying patients in a national network of pharmacies is a unique and effective way of collecting relevant "real world" data. Selection biases related to the health care setting are minimized.

German psoriasis registry PsoBest: objectives, methodology and baseline data

“…The socio‐demographic and clinical features of the PsoBest patients show some differences from the patients in the national studies PsoHealth in 2007 and PsoPharm in 2010 (Table ). The patients in PsoBest had a shorter duration of disease (18.2 vs. 21.3 years) and were younger (47.3 vs. 51.5 years) than those in PsoHealth and PsoPharm.…”

Epidemiology and Comorbidity in Children with Psoriasis and Atopic Eczema

“…Moreover, studies on psoriasis care and self-medication in Germany by pharmacies have shown that very few patients buying medication and doing self-medication in Germany do not refer to a prescription. Furthermore most Germans are insured, since health care provision is based on a statutory health insurance system [34]. Until now, only few validation studies for routine data of German statutory health insurances exist, and the true underlying number of children with each ICD-10 diagnosis can only be estimated.…”

Deutsches Psoriasis‐Register PsoBest: Zielsetzung, Methodik und Basisdaten

“…Die soziodemografischen und klinischen Merkmale der PsoBest-Patienten weichen deskriptiv gegenüber den Patientenmerkmalen ab, die in der nationalen Versorgungsstudie PsoHealth im Jahr 2007 [25] und PsoPharm 2010 [26] gefunden wurden (Tabelle 2). Die Patienten in PsoBest hatten im Vergleich zu den Patienten in PsoHealth und PsoPharm eine kürzere Erkrankungsdauer (18,2 vs. 21,3 J.)…”

“…Bezüglich der letzten Vortherapie unterscheiden sich die in PsoBest eingeschlossenen Patienten durch einen deutlich höheren Anteil an Systemtherapeutika und einem geringeren Anteil an topischen Medikamenten von Patienten mit Psoriasis anderer Versorgungsstudien (Abbildung 6) [25][26][27][28][29].…”

“…PsoWeb ist eine webbasierte Studie [27], PsoReal wurde unter Mitgliedern von Patientenorganisationen durchgeführt [28]. Die PsoHealth-Studien wurden in der ambulanten dermatologischen Versorgung durchgeführt [25,29] und PsoPharm bezieht sich auf ein deutsches Apothekennetzwerk [26].…”