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Written question asked by Paul Beresford (Conservative) on Thursday, 28 April 2016, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 4 May 2016 (named day). It was answered by Jane Ellison (Conservative) on Wednesday, 4 May 2016 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Psoriasis: Medical Treatments

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to the public purse is of NHS psoriasis patients continuing their current treatment who do not reach the NICE goal of 75 per cent skin clearance from treatment start.

Answer

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has approved a number of different treatments for psoriasis as part of its technology appraisal (TA) programme, the most recent of these being Secukinumab, which was recommended as a possible treatment for people with plaque psoriasis in July 2015. The National Health Service is legally obliged to fund medicines and treatments recommended by NICE's TA programme, meaning people can access these treatments wherever they live in the country.

Information regarding the cost to the NHS of the continued treatment of psoriasis patients who do not achieve 75% skin clearance is not collected. The NICE best practice guideline Psoriasis: assessment and management, published in October 2012, covers approaches to diagnosis and treatment and specialist referral. The majority of TA recommended psoriasis treatments are featured in the guideline, and their success in treating psoriasis is measured using Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) and Dermatology Life Quality Index. PASI is a quantitative rating score for measuring the severity of psoriatic lesions based on area coverage and plaque appearance. In most cases, NICE defines an adequate response to treatment as one that includes a 75% reduction in a PASI score. The NICE guidance can be found at the following link:

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg153/resources/psoriasis-assessment-and-management-35109629621701

For patients who do not responded adequately to either topical treatment or biological therapies, such as those recommended by the NICE TA programme, the guidance recommends referral to a specialised service. NHS England commissions specialised dermatology services nationally and has set out what providers must have in place in order to deliver specialised dermatology care, as well as defining referral criteria. For psoriasis patients, referrals are appropriate where their condition is severe and they have not responded to NICE approved biological therapies. More information on specialised dermatology services can be found at the following link:

www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/a12-spec-dermatology.pdf

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
36027
Session
2015-16
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Costs Medical treatments Psoriasis
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk