Compounded preparations in dermatology - analysis of prescribing habits in everyday clinical practice in Germany.

BACKGROUND

Compounded preparations (CPs) are an indispensable addition to approved, commercially available drugs (CADs), especially for topical therapy. In Germany, about eight million CPs are prescribed within the statutory health insurance system each year, 50 % thereof by dermatologists.

METHODS

We analyzed prescribing habits based on a questionnaire sent out to 186 office-based dermatologists and 1,491 pharmacies in the federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. The goal was to improve patient care by collecting and categorizing data in terms of prescription practice and associated challenges in interdisciplinary cooperation.

RESULTS

Overall, 351 pharmacists (23.5 %) and 53 dermatologists (28.4 %) participated in this survey. The most common reason (83 %) stated for prescribing a CP was the possibility to prescribe large quantities of a given topical medication; CPs were most commonly prescribed for psoriasis and various types of dermatitis. The most frequently prescribed active pharmaceutical ingredients were triamcinolone (80 %), erythromycin (78.3 %) and clotrimazole (72.5 %). Fifty-eight percent of pharmacists reported that the collaboration with dermatologists was "associated with problems"; 34 % complained about insufficient communication.

CONCLUSIONS

CPs are essential for optimizing patient care. Interdisciplinary cooperation poses a challenge to both physicians and pharmacists. In this context, it is important to increase collaborative efforts in terms of training and continuing medical education. Further studies on CPs are required to better elucidate the challenges and opportunities associated with their prescription.