It is no secret dermatology offices around the country are filled with acne patients of all ages and skin types searching for the latest treatment options from their trusted expert practitioner. Acne affects around 50 million people, with a significant portion suffering from a severe case.
The burden of having such a skin condition leaves many with depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide. As the practitioner and expert, it would make sense you are able to ease the pains of acne and give your patients treatments that provide clearance, are cost effective and easy to obtain.
The Drawbacks of Current Acne Treatments
You think back to the last time you discovered a new combination treatment inside your bag of tricks typically including oral isotretinoin, antibiotics and topical agents. Used in tandem, these could be a reliable treatment option. But are they in the best interest of your patient? Will they target the three pathogenesis of acne?
There’s always the systemic medication, isotretinoin. You are left knowing the complicated side effects of this so called “miracle drug” (which by the way, was approved by the FDA way back in 1982), that your patients have more than likely heard horror stories about from word of mouth, social media, internet searches, etc.
A drawback to this medication is compliance, according to “Currently Constrained, Dermatologists Are Ready for New Acne Therapies” by Arielle Nagler, MD from the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology. Patients taking isotretinoin are not only banned from becoming pregnant while on this medication, but they also must consent to monthly pregnancy tests and the use of two forms of birth control. If they were not already relying on your expertise, they are depending on you to also pledge to these rules and regulations. One more barrier to this string of unfortunate events happens at the pharmacy. The pharmacists that come and go at the local drug store will also have to comply with consent. If all goes well, your patient may not even purchase this prescription because of its high price tag. No wonder why your colleagues can’t help but tell you how much they have seen a decline in the use of the so called “miracle drug.”
How about antibiotics, like a spironolactone? Something that men and women can take without being worried about life altering side effects. But think back to your studies in medical school or the medical journal you receive monthly. There seems to be a looming reminder of the increased risk with extended use of antibiotics over a six-month period. Your patients have done well on an antibiotic therapy, but is it worth potentially receiving antimicrobial resistance, or diseases to the bowels and infections to the throat?
It is hard to justify the previously mentioned drugs due to their repercussions, difficulty to obtain because of cost or compliance and their abilities to ease all the causative factors of acne.
The Expert Becomes Accountable for Adherence to Acne Regimen
There are those patients who had reasonable patient adherence and you may not see them in your office that often. Patients who are returning unnecessarily for appointments without any response to their current therapies are holding you responsible as the expert, as said in “Who is Accountable When Patients Do Not Achieve Successful Treatment for their Acne” by James Del Rosso, DO from Journal of Drugs in Dermatology. They could not afford the high price that comes along with acne medications, so perhaps they just purchased one step of the regimen or participated in a deep research hole online of other available treatment options that better suit their lifestyle. Expectations were not met regarding response to therapy and compromised by the mentioned barriers.
Other skin disease states are excelling with advancements in biologics, but this is not the case for acne. Did we mention isotretinoin was approved back in 1982? It is said that the current treatment options for acne are far too limited, hard to access and standing in the way of the patient/prescriber relationship.
What if there were one treatment and one medical device that will target the pathogenesis of acne while making your profitable as a cash-based service and without hassles that come along with medications and trips to the pharmacy. A new advancement in the treatment of acne is now available. It is time to practice medicine better. Stop relying on prescriptions and get better patient outcomes while becoming more profitable.
