How much does skin disease cost?
First posted Sept. 19, 2002
The NPF participated at a workshop held on Sept. 4-5 in Bethesda, Md., to discuss how much skin disease costs the United States, and not just in dollars, but also in terms of the emotional and psychological pain and suffering people with skin diseases and their families experience.
Advocates from different dermatology groups, including the NPF, recently convinced Congress that an accurate estimate is needed to help assist the National Institutes of Health (NIH) set spending and research priorities. Current estimates for the cost of psoriasis care (the "burden") in the U.S. range between $650 million a year to $4.3 billion a year. The NIH cannot determine how much to spend on an area of research without knowing its true cost to society.
The burden of skin disease includes economic effects, such as doctor and hospital costs, medications, and time lost from work. Other quality of life effects, such as the psychosocial or emotional burden of the disease, are much harder to quantify, but have no less of an impact on the total burden on society or on afflicted individuals. Cost estimates vary depending on what factors are included in the estimate.
"These are very difficult questions, questions which thankfully will now be addressed by a large group of knowledgeable experts. The NPF's role was to show them the importance of measuring all aspects of skin disease, and particularly psoriasis, including the really tough areas to measure," said Tara Rolstad, NPF director of research, who gave a presentation on the effect of psoriasis on personal, family and work relationships.
The workshop was sponsored by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, and was attended by approximately 70 researchers, scientists, dermatologists and patient advocates. A summary report of the workshop will be published in a major dermatology journal, and working groups will be established to develop new tools and methods necessary to measure the true burden of skin disease.
"We will stay engaged in this work on behalf of people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, to be sure the concerns of people with these conditions are recognized and validated," said Ms. Rolstad.
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