It is estimated that the annual cost of treating psoriasis in the United States is in excess of $11.25 billion dollars. This is due largely to the high cost of biologic therapies, which can reach $40,000 annually per patient; the cost of treating a patient with in-office phototherapy is roughly $5,700 per year. In addition, the long-term side-effect profile of phototherapy is very favorable when compared to the known and unknown side effects of biologics, steroids and systemic drugs. Researchers have found that 52% of patients with psoriasis and 45% of patients with psoriatic arthritis are dissatisfied with their treatment. Of patients that discontinued biologic treatments, 25% said it didn’t work and 17% reported negative side effects; 30% remain untreated due to fear of injection. Phototherapy offers a safe and effective solution for patients, even children and pregnant women who often cannot be treated with other potentially harmful alternatives.
Adding phototherapy to your practice can significantly increase the number of patients you treat and widen your scope of practice, while bringing an important service to patients with a variety of skin conditions including psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and vitiligo. Phototherapy is readily reimbursed by most insurance carriers and provides a procedure-based, recurring revenue stream that is quick to implement with little disruption to your office. The chart below illustrates just how few patients are needed to support the purchase of a device.
All full-body devices are delivered and installed by experienced Daavlin technicians who will provide detailed operational training for your staff on the same day of delivery. Daavlin’s proprietary software, SmartTouch, makes the administration of phototherapy treatments easy with such features as permanent patient records, built-in protocols, operator tracking, and monitoring systems that prevent errors in dosing. Even if you have never offered phototherapy before, you can be operational within hours of installation and, because phototherapy does not require a physician’s license, you can assign the administration of daily appointments to support staff.
It all starts by choosing the equipment that is best suited to the needs of your patients, makes the most of the available space in your office and supports the long-term financial goals of your practice. Generally, a full-body cabinet, such as NeoLux, will serve the broadest range of patients due to its ability to treat the entire body. In addition, the M Series hand/foot units and the Lumera targeted units provide a nice complement to the full-body unit to treat hands, feet, scalp and other localized areas. Our helpful account representatives can help you select the equipment that is right for you.
Adding phototherapy to your practice is surprisingly simple. Please contact us today for more information at clinical@daavlin.com or by calling 800-322-8546.
