Parting Wisdom on Plaque Psoriasis

Linda F Stein Gold, MD: Mark, I’d like to turn to you to conclude, you have such a wealth of experience treating patients with psoriasis. What advice do you have for our community physicians and dermatologists who treat plaque psoriasis? What words of wisdom can you give them?

Mark Lebwohl, MD:Sure. We are still treating a minority of patients who should be on systemic therapies with systemic therapies. We are overusing creams and ointments, or simply not treating patients at all. Once you get the patients on those drugs, they will love you. They are practice builders because the patients do so well. I would encourage them to do that. I understand the access hurdles, you’ve got to do prior authorizations, when you write a prescription, it gets denied first. Step therapy legislation now is in close to 30 states. That means that the insurance company can still deny your prescription, but if you appeal it, they are obligated to take your appeal seriously, and they usually give you the drug you’re asking for. I would take advantage of that.

The AAD [American Academy of Dermatology] has a letter-writing tool, and your secretary can generate those appeal letters in 30 seconds. You don’t even have to look at them. You explain to them how to do it once. Then what you’ll find is the patients love you. They are happy with what you’ve done for them, and they’ll send lots of other patients to you. I would encourage you to take advantage of that.

Linda F. Stein Gold, MD: Thank you, Mark, Jerry, and Leon, for this rich and informative discussion. Thank you for watching this HCPLive® Peer Exchange. If you enjoyed the content, please subscribe to our e-newsletters to receive upcoming Peer Exchanges and other great content right in your inbox.

This transcript has been edited for clarity.