The costs of psoriasis medications

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.

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

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.

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.

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.