Processes of psoriasis health care in Germany--long-term analysis of data from the statutory health insurances

Treatment patterns, healthcare resource utilization, and costs in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis treated with systemic therapy in Japan: A retrospective claims database study

The real-world treatment landscape for patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis receiving systemic therapies in Japan is not well understood. This study describes the demographic and clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, healthcare resource utilization, and psoriasis-associated costs in these patients. This retrospective observational study used data from the Japan Medical Data Center database between January 2016 and December 2020. Eligible patients had a confirmed diagnosis of psoriasis, ≥1 claim for a systemic treatment of interest, medical history for ≥6 months, and follow-up data for ≥12 months. Systemic therapies comprised biologics (tumor necrosis factor and interleukin inhibitors) and oral treatments (a phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor, immunosuppressants, and vitamin A). Patient demographics and clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, healthcare resource utilization, and costs were evaluated. The study identified 1770 patients satisfying all inclusion criteria. The mean age was 49.0 years, with 68% of patients aged 20-54 years. Overall, 90.6% and 9.4% of patients received oral medications and biologics as index treatment, respectively. Treatment patterns, healthcare resource utilization, and costs were assessed for treatments received by ≥20 patients (n = 1730). During the 12-month follow-up period, 1102/1730 patients (63.7%) discontinued index treatment, of whom 9.9% switched to alternative systemic treatments. The persistence rate was ≥70% for most biologics and <50% for oral systemic treatments. All 1730 patients had ≥1 all-cause outpatient visit (2.0 visits per person per month) and hospitalization frequency was ≤0.01 per person per month. Persistent patients incurred inflation-adjusted costs of Japanese Yen (JPY) 88 667 per person per month. Treatment switching was associated with an increase in total cost: JPY 128 039 per person per month after switching versus JPY 117 504 before switching. This study of Japanese patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis demonstrated low persistence, high discontinuation, and low rates of treatment switching with systemic therapies. Switching was associated with increased total cost. These results indicate unmet needs for new treatments.

Medicinal Treatment of Elderly Psoriasis Patients before and after Entering a Nursing Home

Psoriasis (PS) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease, and it increasingly appears also in the elderly population. There is a rising interest in drug therapy for PS, especially for people receiving care in nursing homes (NH). Which PS-related drugs are prescribed in the time before nursing home admission (NHA), and to what extent does the supply of drugs change after NHA? Which specialties prescribe PS-related drugs? Statutory health insurance data were examined for people with PS, aged ≥ 65 years, who were newly admitted to a NH in the period 2011-2014 and observed for one year before and after NHA. Changes in prescription prevalence (pre-post comparison) were examined for significant differences. Prescriptions of PS-relevant drugs were measured by defined daily dose and stratified according to the prescribing specialist group. The analysis included 718 insured persons with PS (76.2% female, mean age 83.3 years). Systemic therapeutics played a minor role (pre: 2.6% vs. post: 2.1%) in drug therapy. Topical steroids had a high share of about 40% in the pre-post comparison. Overall, the proportion of people with PS who received treatment remained at a comparable level before and after NHA. A structured assessment of the skin is crucial, specifically in people with cognitive impairment.

[Regional variations in healthcare for patients with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis in Germany]

BACKGROUND

Psoriasis (Pso) and atopic dermatitis (AD) are chronic skin diseases that result in significant physical and psychological impairment, financial burden, and loss of quality of life. According to previous data, there are regional differences in healthcare.

OBJECTIVES

The aim was to analyse the epidemiology as well as the treatment of insured people with Pso and AD in Germany in a regional comparison.

METHODS

Data of the insurance company Techniker Krankenkasse for the year 2019 regarding treatment prevalences as well as drug prescriptions on the regional level for all physicians were examined.

RESULTS

In 2019 the overall prevalence of Pso was 2.5% (about 2 million insured people in Germany) and AD was 4.2% (about 3.6 million insured people). In Pso, new guideline-compliant drugs were frequently utilised, yet systemic glucocorticosteroids (GCS) were still disproportionally prescribed. Regionally, there were pronounced disparities with higher prescription rates of the new drugs in the north and east. Insured people with AD most frequently received topical GCS (approx. 88%), of which most were class III (66%), and significantly less frequently calcineurin inhibitors (< 10%), which also conform to guidelines. Systemically, GCS were by far most commonly used (about 25% of all insured people with drug prescriptions). Dupilumab, the only long-term drug approved in 2019, was very rarely prescribed, accounting for less than 1%. Again, large regional differences similar to Pso were found.

CONCLUSION

Pso and AD show relevant disparities and gaps in drug care in the regional comparison despite uniform national guidelines and patient needs. The barriers to appropriate modern pharmaceuticals need to be clarified and mitigated.

The Unmet Need for Clinical Guidelines on the Management of Patients with Plaque Psoriasis in Africa and the Middle East

Purpose

Dermatologists practicing in African and Middle Eastern countries face numerous challenges when managing patients with plaque psoriasis, especially those with disease in a difficult-to-treat anatomic area or those who are a pediatric, geriatric, or pregnant patient. The publication of comprehensive, up-to-date, region-specific clinical guidelines may help to address some of these challenges and improve outcomes. We conducted a literature review to identify recent guidelines and other publications describing patients with plaque psoriasis in Africa and the Middle East.

Patients and Methods

An online literature search of the PubMed database was conducted to identify publications reporting clinical guidelines and research studies on plaque psoriasis. The search included all articles published from January 2008 to March 2020 inclusive. The titles and abstracts of all search results were screened by a reader to identify those that described patients in Africa or the Middle East.

Results

A total of 145 publications were identified by the literature search and screened by a reader. There were 10 publications that described patients in Africa or the Middle East: 4 research articles, 3 reviews, 2 guidelines, and 1 case study. The 2010 guidelines from South Africa made recommendations for treating plaque psoriasis of varying severity, although without specific recommendations for difficult-to-treat anatomic areas or pediatric, geriatric, or pregnant patients. The 2014 guideline on biologics from Saudi Arabia included recommendations for the use of these agents in patients with plaque psoriasis, including difficult-to-treat anatomic areas and pediatric patients (TNF inhibitors only), but provided no recommendations for pregnant or geriatric patients.

Conclusion

There is an urgent unmet need for comprehensive clinical guidelines on the management of patients with plaque psoriasis in Africa and the Middle East. Region-specific studies on the epidemiology, burden of disease, and the safety and effectiveness of newer pharmacotherapies are needed to support the development of such guidelines.

The German National Program on Psoriasis Health Care 2005-2015: results and experiences

In 2005, the first national psoriasis survey in Germany revealed large deficits in health care particularly in patients with moderate to severe disease. The consecutive goal was to improve health care for psoriasis countrywide. For this, a large-scale national program was initiated starting with a comprehensive analysis of structures and processes of care for psoriasis. Patient burden, economic impact and barriers to care were systematically analyzed. In order to optimize routine care, a S3 guideline, a set of outcomes measures and treatment goals, were developed. Implementation was enforced by the German Psoriasis Networks (PsoNet) connecting the most dedicated dermatologists. The annual National Conference on Health Care in Psoriasis established in 2009 consented National Health Care Goals in Psoriasis 2010-2015 and defined a set of quality indicators, which are monitored on a regular basis. Currently 28 regional networks including more than 800 dermatologists are active. Between 2005 and 2014 7 out of 8 quality indicators have markedly improved, and regional disparities were resolved. e.g., mean PASI (Psoriasis Area Severity Index) dropped from 11.4 to 8.1 and DLQI (Dermatology Life Quality Index) from 8.6 to 5.9. A decade of experience indicates that a coordinated nationwide psoriasis program based on goal orientation can contribute to better quality of care and optimized outcomes.

Biosimilars in psoriasis: what can we expect?

Biosimilars are biotechnologically processed drugs whose amino acid sequence is identical to the original biopharmaceutical. They are of considerable clinical, economical, and health care interest. As patents for biologicals used to treat psoriasis expire, biosimilars will become more and more important within the field of dermatology. The patents for the two top-selling drugs (adalimumab and etanercept) will terminate in the next few years. Applications for biosimilars will presumably be submitted to the EMA and the FDA for all patent-free biologicals. Both regulatory bodies have issued guidelines on the assessment of bioequivalence, as well as the benefits and risks of biosimilars. While the preclinical requirements of the FDA and EMA are largely comparable, the formal requirements for clinical bioequivalence, including clinical efficacy and safety, differ markedly. Therefore, from a medical and health care perspective before biosimilars enter the market, specific evidence-based regulatory conditions need to be created and fulfilled. Only then biosimilars can be a less expensive option for a large number of patients, providing them with substances of the same value. Adequate, unequivocal proof of their bioequivalence, quality, and related patient safety should have priority over any ostensible economic benefits.

The costs of psoriasis medications

Introduction

Psoriasis is a chronic disease, which contributes to the economic burden on health care. The distribution of psoriasis medication costs and the quality of life in these patients has been estimated to be around 20% of total costs.

Objectives

To estimate the economic distribution of medications and the impact of multiple treatment options on a patient’s quality of life.

Materials and methods

The study was based on 236 Finnish psoriasis patients. The Finnish Social Insurance Institution had databases for all psoriasis related medications purchased. Each purchase, during the 1-year study period (1 October 2009–30 September 2010), was recorded and analyzed. The dermatological quality-of-life index was collected from the medical records.

Results

Total medication costs were €1,083 per year per patient. Topical treatments were the most often purchased medication and they comprised 18% of the total medication costs. Ten percent of the patients needed 3 or more medication changes during the 1-year study period. Biologics were used only by 5% of patients, but they produced 67% of total medication costs. Patients needing various treatments had higher medication costs and a poorer quality of life.

Conclusion

A small number of patients generated a great sum of medication costs partly due to the need to change medications. These patients had the worst quality-of-life index scores. Biologics formed a major cost component.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13555-013-0040-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.