Psoriasis

What to expect with your patient’s Psoriasis therapy

Burmans Specialty Pharmacy understands the special need of patients with Psoriasis. Psoriasis is a common skin condition that causes skin redness and irritation. Most persons with psoriasis have thick, red skin with flaky, silver-white patches called scales.

Symptoms

Persons with psoriasis have irritated patches of skin. The redness is most often seen on the elbows, knees, and trunk, but can appear anywhere on the body. For example, there may be flaky patches on the scalp.

The skin patches or dots may be:

• Pink-red in color (like the color of salmon)
• Dry and covered with silver, flaky skin (scales)
• Raised and thick

Additional symptoms may include:

Genital lesions in males

Joint pain or aching (psoriatic arthritis)

Nail changes, including nail thickening, yellow-brown spots, dents (pits) on the nail surface, and separation of the nail from the base

Treatment

The goal of treatment is to control your symptoms and prevent secondary infections.

Psoriasis that covers all or most of the body is an emergency that requires a hospital stay. You may receive painkillers, medicines to make you sleepy (sedatives), fluids through a needle in your vein, and antibiotics to fight any infection.

Mild cases of psoriasis are usually treated at home. Your doctor may recommend any of the following:

• Cortisone (anti-itch) cream
• Creams or ointments that contain coal tar or anthralin
• Creams to remove the scaling (usually salicylic acid or lactic acid)
• Dandruff shampoos (over-the-counter or prescription)
• Moisturizers
• Prescription medicines containing vitamin D or vitamin A (retinoids)

Oatmeal baths may be soothing and may help to loosen scales. Over-the-counter oatmeal bath products may be used. Or, you can mix one cup of oatmeal into a tub of warm water.

If you have an infection, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics.

Sunlight may help your symptoms go away. Be careful not to get sunburned. Some people may choose to have phototherapy. Phototherapy is a medical procedure in which your skin is carefully exposed to ultraviolet light. Phototherapy may be given alone or after you take a drug that makes the skin sensitive to light.

Persons with very severe psoriasis may receive medicines to suppress the body’s immune response. These medicines include methotrexate or cyclosporine. (Persons who have psoriatic arthritis may also receive these drugs.)

Newer drugs called biologics specifically target the body’s immune response, which is thought to play a role in psoriasis. These drugs are used when other treatments do not work. Biologics approved for the treatment of psoriasis include:

• Adalimumab (Humira)
• Alefacept (Amevive)
• Etanercept (Enbrel)
• Infliximab (Remicade)

The pharmacy care management team works closely with the patient, physician and care giver to establish a care plan that best meets their specific healthcare needs.

For patients with Psoriasis, we provide the medication and support they need to lead active, full lives.

When you order your patients’ Psoriasis medications through Burman’s Specialty Pharmacy, you and your patients will receive fast delivery, expert support, and so much more.

• 24/7/365 patient support
• Free delivery & supplies
• Nursing support as needed

If you have questions about your patient’s medications, we can help. Call anytime – day or night – to talk to a registered nurse or pharmacist.

Call us toll free at: 1- 800-604-6068

An experienced team to help manage your patients’ Psoriasis.

We incorporate the following into our Psoriasis treatment program:

Assessment – After you place your patient’s first order, a patient care coordinator (PCC) will contact them to verify key information – such as age, weight, dose, any allergies, and shipping address. The PCC will assess the patient’s healthcare and support needs. We will determine if the patient needs more help understanding their condition or medication.

Clinical help – If you or your patients have any questions, our pharmacists are always available to assist. Patients who require nursing support they will be assigned nurse who specializes in Psoriasis disease. The pharmacy care manager is a registered pharmacist who will contact their assigned patient regularly to check on them.

Education – We will send your patients a welcome packet to explain our services. Depending on each patient’s need, a nurse or pharmacist who specializes in Psoriasis will provide additional education. Each new patient receives a welcome and all ancillary supplies to initiate the start of therapy.

Psoriasis care plan – We monitor each patient’s medication usage. We make sure they always have the right medication and dose for their needs. If your patient wants additional support, we will contact them as often as they need us.

If your patient meets medical approval for home health care, we can arrange for a home health care nurse to administer their therapy in the comfort of their home. And we’ll keep in contact with you so you know how your patient is doing between office visits.

Extra service at refill time – We will call your patient one week before their refills are due to schedule their next delivery. We inquire on patient’s inventory levels. We will ask your patient to confirm:

• How they are doing with their therapy.
• If they are still taking the same specialty drug.
• If they are still taking the same dose.
• If they are having any side effects.
• If they need additional supplies.
• Where they would like their next refill delivered.

If your patient needs help, we’ll put them in touch with a pharmacist. We may also reach out to you to talk about your patient’s medication or dose.

Open lines of communication – Our clinical team works closely with you and your patients. A pharmacy care manager will call each patient as often as they need. If your patient expresses any concerns about their medication or dose, we will contact you to discuss.

Product integrity – We take care of your patients’ medications. Our pharmacists will double check each order to make sure it’s right before it goes out the door. Our special packaging keeps your medications at the right temperature.

Dependable Delivery – We can send your patients’ medications by UPS or our dedicated delivery personnel – anywhere. That includes the patient’s home, your office, infusion center, or any other location. We track each shipment through our UPS tracking system. This ensures your patients receive safe, quick delivery of their medication.

Improvement plans – We constantly evaluate the success of our Psoriasis program through patient and physician satisfaction surveys.

How to order

Follow these three easy steps to start your patients on service with Burmans Specialty Pharmacy. We’ll take care of everything else.

1. Complete a Burmans Specialty Pharmacy Medication Request Form for each patient.
2. Indicate delivery arrangements on the form.
3. Fax your referral to Burmans Specialty Pharmacy at 1-800-599-5560