Efficacy, Safety, and Out-of-pocket Costs are the Most Important Factors to Patients in Choosing a Psoriasis Therapy.

OBJECTIVE

To determine which factors (i.e., cost, efficacy, safety, and method of delivery) influence choice of psoriasis treatment by patients and how patients obtain information regarding treatment options.

DESIGN

Anonymous survey.

SETTING

Specialty Psoriasis Clinic at an academic dermatology department over a six-month period.

PARTICIPANTS

Convenience sample of 40 psoriasis patients.

MEASUREMENTS

Participant demographics, psoriasis treatment history, sources of information about treatment options, factors influencing treatment choices, and knowledge of treatment costs.

RESULTS

The mean (±SD) patient age and duration of psoriasis was 50 (±17) and 19 (±17) years, respectively. Factors influencing patient's choice of psoriasis treatment were, in order of importance: efficacy (90% very important), safety/side effects (65%), patient's own cost (53%), then total treatment cost (46%), frequency of use (37%), and method of medication delivery (i.e., topical, oral, or injection; 17%). Eighty percent of patients reported not knowing the total cost of any psoriasis treatments. The patient's dermatologist was identified as both the most important (90%) and the most influential (75%) source of information for selecting psoriasis treatments, with the internet being the second most important source.

CONCLUSION

Patients, in large measure, are unaware of the costs for different psoriasis treatments. Efficacy, safety, and out-of-pocket costs are the most important factors to patients in deciding on a psoriasis treatment.