Prescribing & Medicines Management
Issue no 1, p4
January/February 2003

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Vitiligo patients failed

People with vitiligo are not having their pharmaceutical care needs met by pharmacists or GPs, say the authors of a questionnaire study of 130 vitiligo sufferers.

Pharmacists had a basic understanding of the condition, but were often poorly informed about how it should be managed. Most respondents had been given no information about their condition by their GP, and 86 per cent had never asked their pharmacist for information. More than half of the sample did not know that specialised cosmetic products for vitiligo were available on prescription.

The study found that 65 per cent wanted pharmacies to supply vitiligo product information, and three in four said pharmacies should supply treatment information (Journal of Social and Administrative Pharmacy 2002; 19(6): 239.