Quality of medical care of patients with acne vulgaris in Germany--nationwide survey of pharmacy clients.
BACKGROUND
No empirical "real world" data on the health care of patients with acne vulgaris in Germany currently exist. The objective of this study was to get an informative basis of health care of patients with acne vulgaris in Germany, taking into account both doctor-prescribed medication and self-medication.


METHODS
Surveying both medically and self-treated patients, n = 504 patients with acne vulgaris were interviewed in 48 pharmacies nationwide. In addition to socio-demographic data, the duration of illness, localization and therapy as well as patient-relevant outcomes such as patient benefit, psychological strain and markers of compliance were evaluated. The participation and significance of individual treatment providers were also evaluated.


RESULTS
A large percentage of the patients found acne vulgaris to be burdensome. Despite the longstanding necessity of treatment and the chronic course of the illness, the treatment of acne vulgaris was deemed a rather satisfactory experience by most of those affected. Dermatologists were most frequently consulted for treatment. A great number of medicinal products were further acquired through self-medication or after consulting with a pharmacist. The medically regulated therapies predominantly complied with the latest guidelines.


CONCLUSIONS
Acne vulgaris is a burdensome, socio-economically relevant illness, and dermatologists treat most cases in Germany. Surveying across a network of pharmacies offers a unique access to relevant treatment data. Selection effects, particularly by choice of doctors and self-medication, were minimized.
Franzke
Nadine
N
Competence Center for Health Services Research in Dermatology (CVderm), Department of Dermatology and Venereology, University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, Hamburg, Germany. n.franzke@uke.uni-hamburg.de
Zimmer
Lisa
L
Schäfer
Ines
I
Radermacher
Christian
C
Kresken
Joachim
J
Augustin
Matthias
M
D000152:Acne Vulgaris / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055656:Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012648:Self Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012651:Self Medication / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult