Role of personalized medication training in improving efficacy and adherence to a topical therapy

Poor adherence to topical therapy, defined as the degree to which patients use medication as prescribed by their health-care provider, represents a frequent cause of poor treatment outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of individualized medication training on efficacy, adherence and patient satisfaction to 4 weeks of a topical therapy in psoriasis. METHODS: All enrolled psoriatic patients were given a prescription for calcipotriol/bethamethasone dipropionate gel once daily and were randomly assigned to one of the two following groups with a 1:1 allocation ratio. Patients in group 1 and 2 underwent an initial visit, including the physical examination and provision of information by the dermatologist. Patients in group 2 also received an additional 20 minutes of individualized medication training. Efficacy, adherence and patient satisfaction were evaluated after 4 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: We enrolled 104 consecutive patients with psoriasis: patients in group 2, who were trained, had at week 4 a significant improvement in BSA, PASI, and dPGA, higher PPQ score and were more adherent compared to those in group 1 who were not trained. CONCLUSION: Individualized medication training on the correct application of a topical therapy from a healthcare professional may improve patients' adherence, treatment tolerability and clinical outcomes.