Over 72,000 prescriptions from practicing dermatologists were reviewed to obtain an overview of current prescribing trends including both medical and economic aspects. One main point of concern was the quality of compounded prescriptions, which play an important role in dermatology, comprising 39.5% of the total and 47.8% of the topical prescriptions. Mixtures containing corticosteroids play a central role, being present in 45.2% of topical preparations, and comprising 35.9% of the standard preparations. While most mixtures were totally acceptable, some seemed questionable, either because of the number of active ingredients (as many as 7), the combinations (corticosteroid, antibiotics and antifungals) or the selected concentrations. The increased number of prescriptions and the use of compounding both appear fertile areas for cost-control measures.

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