Adherence to Topical Therapies for the Treatment of Psoriasis: Surveys of Physicians and Patients

BACKGROUND There have been few studies of treatment adherence in Asian patients with psoriasis and understanding of the factors is important to improve outcomes. OBJECTIVE To provide an overview of treatment adherence among Korean patients with psoriasis and to understand how the perceptions of patients and physicians affect topical treatment adherence. METHODS A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted to determine the views and opinions of dermatologists and psoriasis patients on topical treatment adherence. The survey items were developed in collaboration with psoriasis experts. RESULTS Twenty-six dermatologists and fifty patients completed their questionnaire. In the physician survey, more than half of dermatologists only inquired about adherence up to 20% of the time. Most dermatologists generally thought that their patients had high expectations of treatment. Nearly 40% of dermatologists reported that more than 60% of their patients adhered to the prescribed topical treatment. In the patient survey, more than 15% of patients reported that they did not receive enough information about the drug. Around one-fifth of the patients also complained about the physical properties of the products. The majority of patients were confident with the current topical treatments and expected fast improvement, within a couple of weeks. The most common reason for low adherence was forgetfulness. Inconvenience and concerns about side effects were common reasons for topical treatment discontinuation. CONCLUSION Because adherence to topical treatment is a complex, multifactorial issue with factors varying between patients, dermatologists should focus on determining each patient's individual adherence barriers to achieve good treatment outcomes.