Practical Strategies for Improving Patient Adherence with Topical Regimens

Dr. Justin Marson (00:07):

Hi, I'm Dr. Justin Marson, I completed my residency at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn.

(00:12):

So, what I've found when it comes to getting patients to adhere to a regimen is that the best medications, the best drugs are going to be the ones that patients are going to want to use. So, there's a couple of things I like to keep in mind. So A, just keeping it simple. In the days of topical corticosteroids, you would have one for the face, one for the armpits, one for the body and the groin. And if you throw too much at a patient in one sitting, they're going to forget, they're just not going to do it. Maybe they don't even pick up the medication. They're going to come back, couple of weeks, months later, and be like, "Doc, I'm not any better."

(00:43):

So, I think with the advent of some of their newer topical medications and even some of the systemics, it's one medication that's safe to use in multiple places, minimal side effects, and no lab monitoring. You give them one or two drugs that they know when to use and when and where to use, and I've found that improves efficacy as well as adherence significantly.