GD — Society for Dermopharmacy
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Issue 1 (2006) |
Dermopharmacy
News Skin diseases are the most frequent occupational affections - nearly
20,000 new susceptible cases are reported to the occupational associations
yearly. "Skin complaints are not only a negative spearhead in view
of case numbers but they equally cause the highest costs under all occupational
skin diseases", professor Dr. Swen Malte John of Osnabrück University
explained on the occasion of a press conference by the ABD in Hamburg
in January 2006. The economic total expenditures by invalidity and productive shortfall
amount to 1.8 billion Euro per year according to information by John.
"Frequently occupationally contracted eczema or allergies compel
to job abandonment or entail dismissal by the employer", according
to John. Re-educations are cost-intensive - approximately 100,000 Euro
for personnel and material costs per measure - and miss the aim I many
cases in view of the current employment situation. These figures and the fact that occupational dermatoses are often avoidable
by timely prevention measures call for an effective procedure aiming at
early intervention by the dermatologist. He is not only to document the
respective occupationally acquired skin disease but also to initiate preventive
and therapeutical measures as early as possible. In case the occupational coherence to the disease is unambiguous, all
measures can be settled to the debit of the respective casualty insurance
company. The increased expenditure in terms of time for the completing
of the dermatologist's report (form F 6050) and the advisory service of
the person concerned is now reimbursed by 50 instead of 29 Euro at an
earlier point of time. The settlement of a report about the treatment
process (form F 6052) is remunerated by additional 25 Euro. Moreover, tests necessary for the clarification of the diagnosis can
be balanced separately according to UV-GOÄ. As the patient is entitled
to the application of all "means suited" preventively and therapeutically,
also skin protection agents and non-prescriptive drugs can be prescribed
for him on BG prescription. In addition, the patient does not have to
pay practice or prescription fees. The new dermatologists' report revealed to be very suitable in practice
in a pilot study performed in North of Germany. The quality of information
is statistically distinctly better than of earlier questionnaires, test
supervisor John concludes. Beyond 75 percent of the patients involved in the study assessed the
treatment by the dermatologist positively, more than 70 percent rated
the skin protection measures suggested by the dermatologist as helpful
"These results make obvious that the mutual efforts by casualty insurance
companies and dermatologists are esteemed by the persons concerned",
John sums up.jk
Occupational Skin Diseases
Swift
Intervention by Dermatologists may Impede Loss of Job
Speedy help is double help: by means of an improved reporting procedure
and more rapid initiating of preventing and therapeutical measures it is
to be prevented that employees suffering from occupational-related skin
diseases lose their position. The so-called optimized dermatological procedure
provides this measure which had been jointly developed by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft
für Berufs- und Umweltdermatologie (ABD) (Study Group for Occupational
and Environmental Dermatology) and the Hauptverband der Berufsgenossenschaften
(Association of Occupational Cooperatives) and introduced after conclusion
of a pilot phase in Northern Germany by 1 October 2005 on federal scale.
Pilot study confirms
patient contentment