Evaluating practice patterns for managing moderate to severe plaque psoriasis: role of the family physician.

Objective: To describe practice patterns for care of Canadian patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

Design: Online survey of a consumer panel.

Setting: Participants were drawn from a population-wide Canadian consumer database.

Participants: To be eligible to participate, respondents had to have been diagnosed with plaque psoriasis within the past 5 years, and to have had body surface area involvement of 3% or greater in the past 5 years, or to have psoriasis on a sensitive area of the body (hands, feet, scalp, face, or genitals), or to be currently receiving treatment with systemic agents or phototherapy for psoriasis.

Main Outcome Measures: Proportion of respondents with psoriasis managed by FPs and other specialists, psoriasis therapies, comorbidities, and patient satisfaction.

Results: Invitations were sent to 3845 panelists with self-reported psoriasis, of which 514 qualified to complete the survey. Family physicians were reported to be the primary providers for diagnosis and ongoing care of psoriasis in all provinces except Quebec. Overall physician care was reported to be satisfactory by 62% of respondents. Most respondents receiving over-the-counter therapies (55%) or prescribed topical therapies (61%) reported that their psoriasis was managed by FPs. Respondents receiving prescription oral or injectable medications or phototherapy were mainly managed by dermatologists (42%, 74%, and 71% of respondents, respectively). Ongoing management of respondents with body surface area involvement of 10% or greater was mainly split between dermatologists (47%) and FPs (45%), compared with rheumatologists (4%) or other health care professionals (4%). Of those respondents receiving medications for concomitant health conditions, treatment for high blood pressure was most common (92%), followed by treatment for heart disease (75%) and elevated cholesterol and lipid levels (68%).

Conclusion: Patient-reported practice patterns for the diagnosis and management of moderate to severe psoriasis vary among provinces and in primary and secondary care settings.