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Treatment Adherence in Dermatology During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic raised many challenges for dermatology. Safety is a principal concern for many patients, particularly those on medications that affect the immune system. Understanding how the pandemic affects patients’ treatment adherence may be informative for couns...

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Autores principales: Bridgeman, Sarah G, Perche, Patrick O, Feldman, Steven R
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Cureus 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9948680/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36843714
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.34141
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author Bridgeman, Sarah G
Perche, Patrick O
Feldman, Steven R
author_facet Bridgeman, Sarah G
Perche, Patrick O
Feldman, Steven R
author_sort Bridgeman, Sarah G
collection PubMed
description The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic raised many challenges for dermatology. Safety is a principal concern for many patients, particularly those on medications that affect the immune system. Understanding how the pandemic affects patients’ treatment adherence may be informative for counseling or other interventions to assure that treatment plans are not inappropriately interrupted, or for future pandemics. The purpose of this review was to investigate the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic affected medication adherence in dermatology. A literature search of PubMed was performed using the search terms: adherence, compliance, dermatology, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), and pandemic. Eleven primary research studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. During the COVID-19 pandemic, non-adherence in dermatology patients was primarily linked to concern about the risk of COVID-19 infection with long-term use of immunomodulatory and immunosuppressive medications. In some cases, non-adherence was associated with feelings of depression, anxiety, or perceived stress. High adherence was attributed to regular and convenient communication between patients and dermatology providers through the effective use of telemedicine and electronic messaging. Frequent communication with providers to address patient concerns and provide continuity of care improved adherence. An integrated virtual approach to patient care facilitated this, particularly through the use of telemedicine. Implementation of routine virtual questionnaires was, to some extent, effective in replacing limited in-person patient-provider interactions during the pandemic. Finally, the added threat of the pandemic presented an additional mental health component to consider for patients, supporting the need for a multidisciplinary approach to patient care.
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spelling pubmed-99486802023-02-24 Treatment Adherence in Dermatology During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review Bridgeman, Sarah G Perche, Patrick O Feldman, Steven R Cureus Dermatology The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic raised many challenges for dermatology. Safety is a principal concern for many patients, particularly those on medications that affect the immune system. Understanding how the pandemic affects patients’ treatment adherence may be informative for counseling or other interventions to assure that treatment plans are not inappropriately interrupted, or for future pandemics. The purpose of this review was to investigate the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic affected medication adherence in dermatology. A literature search of PubMed was performed using the search terms: adherence, compliance, dermatology, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), and pandemic. Eleven primary research studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. During the COVID-19 pandemic, non-adherence in dermatology patients was primarily linked to concern about the risk of COVID-19 infection with long-term use of immunomodulatory and immunosuppressive medications. In some cases, non-adherence was associated with feelings of depression, anxiety, or perceived stress. High adherence was attributed to regular and convenient communication between patients and dermatology providers through the effective use of telemedicine and electronic messaging. Frequent communication with providers to address patient concerns and provide continuity of care improved adherence. An integrated virtual approach to patient care facilitated this, particularly through the use of telemedicine. Implementation of routine virtual questionnaires was, to some extent, effective in replacing limited in-person patient-provider interactions during the pandemic. Finally, the added threat of the pandemic presented an additional mental health component to consider for patients, supporting the need for a multidisciplinary approach to patient care. Cureus 2023-01-24 /pmc/articles/PMC9948680/ /pubmed/36843714 http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.34141 Text en Copyright © 2023, Bridgeman et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Dermatology
Bridgeman, Sarah G
Perche, Patrick O
Feldman, Steven R
Treatment Adherence in Dermatology During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review
title Treatment Adherence in Dermatology During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review
title_full Treatment Adherence in Dermatology During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review
title_fullStr Treatment Adherence in Dermatology During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review
title_full_unstemmed Treatment Adherence in Dermatology During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review
title_short Treatment Adherence in Dermatology During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review
title_sort treatment adherence in dermatology during the covid-19 pandemic: a review
topic Dermatology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9948680/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36843714
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.34141
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