CEimpact Podcast

Atopic Dermatitis Treatment and Guideline Updates

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Treatment for atopic dermatitis has changed dramatically, with new therapies offering more targeted relief across the severity spectrum. This course highlights recent drug approvals, updated guideline recommendations, and the clinical implications of managing atopic dermatitis as a chronic inflammatory condition. You will learn how pharmacists can guide therapy decisions, enhance adherence, and improve patient outcomes in personalized atopic dermatitis care.

HOST
Rachel Maynard, PharmD
GameChangers Podcast Host and Clinical Editor, CEimpact
Lead Editor, Pyrls

Melanie Plotke, PharmD
Manager, Clinical Research
American Academy of Dermatology

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PRACTICE RESOURCE
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CPE REDEMPTION
This course is accredited for continuing pharmacy education! Click the link below that applies to you to take the exam and evaluation to claim credit:


 CPE INFORMATION
Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of this knowledge-based activity, participants should be able to:
1. Describe the updated treatment landscape for atopic dermatitis, including new topical and systemic options.
2. Identify opportunities for pharmacists to collaborate and support atopic dermatitis management through therapy recommendations, patient education, and adherence strategies.

Rachel Maynard and Melanie Plotke have no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

0.05 CEU/0.5 Hr
UAN: 0107-0000-26-074-H01-P
Initial release date: 4/16/2026
Expiration date: 4/16/2027
Additional CPE details can be found here.


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CE Credit And Show Setup

SPEAKER_01

Here on Game Changers, we're all about helping you stay ahead of pharmacy practice. But why stop at listening? You can earn CE credit for this episode and hundreds more by visiting CEimpact.com and logging into your account or creating a new one. Get credit, get inspired, and make your learning count. Hey CE Impact subscribers! Welcome to the Game Changers Clinical Update Podcast. I'm your host, Rachel Maynard, and today we'll be discussing a condition that affects millions of people in the U.S., atopic dermatitis. It's actually the most common chronic inflammatory skin disease, and there have been a number of guideline updates and new treatments approved for atopic dermatitis in recent years. So we're seeing a real evolution and transformation of how this condition is managed. And that means there's an opportunity to be sure we're all up to speed on what this common condition is and how to treat it. So with that, I'm thrilled to have a dermatology expert to help us sort through these treatment options. So I'm going to introduce Dr. Melanie Plotke. So welcome, Melanie.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you so much for having me. Really excited to be here.

Guest Background In Dermatology Guidelines

SPEAKER_01

We are so happy to have you and your expertise. And I'd love for our listeners to just hear a little bit about your background, your current role. I think that does tie in really perfectly with this topic. So if you want to share a little bit about your background and how you got to where you are.

SPEAKER_00

Sure. So like you said, I'm a pharmacist by training. I graduated with my Pharm D from Butley University and started my career at a healthcare tech startup. That company utilized remote pharmds and other clinic staff to provide clinical telehealth services. And so there I worked internally where I was a subject matter expert on our product engineering team. So I did a variety of roles, including everything from mapping NDCs in our databases to creating clinical rules for our platforms. And then eventually got into exploring the ROI of our services and learning to create kind of these robust studies examining patients who received telehealth services versus those who did not. And so with that, I later found myself wanting to publish our findings and really got into medical writing. And so I went back to school. I went back to the University of Chicago and earned a medical writing and editing certificate from there. And then I leaped into my current role, which is a manager of clinical research at the American Academy of Dermatology. And there I help develop, write, and manage evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. And these are across a lot of different dermatologic conditions, more so ones that have pharmacologic therapies, but others as well. And that includes atopic dermatitis.

Atopic Dermatitis Overview And Burden

SPEAKER_01

Excellent. Well, I just love hearing about your background because it's so unique and different and just shares all the different roles that pharmacists can be in. So just super interesting to hear how people get to where they are. And like I say, I think for our topic today, atopic dermatitis, having your experience in the guideline development process from the American Academy of Dermatology is really interesting. So hopefully to hope looking forward to having your fresh perspective on this and sort of that insight scoop. But just to get everyone on the same page and make sure we're all aligned, maybe we can start with an overview of what atopic dermatitis is, how common it is, what are common symptoms, the pathophysiology, just a broad overview of what it is so we can then have that background before moving on to treatment.

SPEAKER_00

Sure. So atopic dermatitis is the most common chronic type of eczema. So in my opinion, this is super important on why we need to talk about it because it affects about 10% of the US population, which is a very large number of people. It is a chronic condition. And for many patients, it's definitely life-altering. So it's not just itchy red, scaly skin, it's also sleep disruption, mental health burdens. It might impair your daily life at work or school, and just need to think about long-term control of the disease since it is chronic. So there's a lot of different factors that go into it that can affect patients. Pathophysiology-wise, in pharmacy school, we've all learned about cytokines and the different types of inflammatory mediators there. So from a cellular standpoint, atopic dermatitis involves both our skin barrier but also those inflammatory mediators. So when we think about cytokines like IL-4, IL-13, IL-31, those are some big ones in atopic dermatitis. And so kind of knowing those names and the roles and the condition is helpful so that when reading guidance documents or clinical practice guidelines, you can kind of connect the reason of why this drug is helping in atopic dermatitis because it is a class effect. You know, for example, IL-4 inhibitors are going to inhibit IL-4 cytokine and therefore prevent that inflammatory effect from happening for patients with atopic dermatitis.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Great summary. So a few things you highlighted there that I think are really important. The chronic nature of it. So this chronic condition that can sort of relapse flare and wane sort of process, the inflammatory nature of it. You tied into some of those specific like intraleukins and cytokines, as you said, that our treatments are sometimes working to help dampen. How about you did mention early in your overview about the term eczema? And if you could clarify that, because I do think we hear that term eczema. And for me, you know, I wondered if that was the same interchangeable with atopic dermatitis. Are they the same truly interchangeable terms or are they slightly different?

SPEAKER_00

They're slightly different. Eczema is a little bit bigger of an umbrella that atopic dermatitis falls under. So eczema is really like the holistic view of inflammatory skin conditions, and atopic dermatitis is just the most common that we hear of, which is why it's commonly interchanged. Um, but they are slightly different.

SPEAKER_01

I I think that's a really important point because, you know, it well, for patients and even colleagues, clinicians talking amongst ourselves, I think the term eczema is easier to say, well-recognized. It's it's a term that's easily used. But I think it is important to call out that actually said eczema is more of an umbrella term and can also include things like contact dermatitis or other sort of subcategories. So important distinction there, I think. I also like how you called out the fact that it's not just dry skin or you know, itchy irritated skin. It is this inflammatory response that does warrant maybe more significant treatment in some cases.

SPEAKER_00

It is, exactly. And so now that's why it's kind of like a pivotal point with our recent guidelines because we're not only just reacting to it, you know, in terms of like doing steroids or immunosuppresance and kind of reacting to this disease, versus now we're able to push forward with some proactive treatment for long-term control as well.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. And thinking about the population, so is there a certain age range where it tends to be more common? Do we see it more in children versus adults, or is it sort of a lifelong, it's chronic, but is it more often identified in children versus adults?

SPEAKER_00

It is more often identified in children versus adults. The rates are higher in terms of like US prevalence. Um, I think children are a little bit more around 20%, whereas adults around 10%. So it is more easily diagnosed in children as well because they're kind of getting those first symptoms. The pediatricians are really involved in the dermatology world as well. And we also have pediatric dermatologists. So there's a lot of ways for children to be diagnosed, whereas adults might not go in to seek that care as often. Sure. Okay.

SPEAKER_01

And so going back to your point about being proactive and helping to manage it early, that seems like an important consideration for host as pharmacists, too. If we are hearing patients having these sort of chronic symptoms not being relieved and this inflammation, itching, and especially if it is impacting quality of life with difficulty sleeping, mental health sort of concerns, making sure that referral is happening seems important.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, exactly. So pharmacists have a really important role here because they can identify when patients are using rescue treatments and cycling through them or when they're constantly being prescribed high potency steroids. And there might be a time to step in when you notice that.

New AAD Guidelines And Severity Basics

SPEAKER_01

Okay, excellent. And now that we have that foundation, let's sort of move on to the guidelines. And you mentioned that we do have several recent guidelines, I think, from the American Academy of Dermatology. So maybe you can highlight what those guidelines are and how what they address in the management of atopic dermatitis, because I was just looking. I was surprised to see that we had it looked like a few that we can reference.

SPEAKER_00

There are a few, and there's been iterations because of how fast moving the pharmacologic manufacturing world is headed right now. So we do have current guidelines within the past five years on comorbidities, which highlight all of the different comorbidities in addition to AD that is a burden to this patient population. We have another guideline, a recent guideline that highlights phototherapy and systemic agents. And then there's another focused update that just was released last year because there were four more new agents released and FDA approved. So we needed to update that guideline pretty quickly so that we can really encompass everything that's available right now.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and I like how you called out that there are all these new approvals. So, as you say, a lot more attention sort of being paid to this area of care and just being aware where some of these newer therapies fit in is important. So it's actually great to have updated guidelines so we can help put that in perspective for patients too. But I think sort of helping to understand that the it's generally split into topical options, topical therapies versus systemic therapies. And when do you think about topical versus systemic in general when you have a patient with atopic dermatitis? Just high level.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so high level, when you think about topicals or moisturizers, you're thinking more about mild disease and the management of a mild disease. When you're thinking about biologics or systemic medications, you're thinking more about moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. Is there sort of a threshold level of symptoms that patients might be reporting that could cue you into okay, they may be more likely to have moderate to severe side of things and maybe candidates for systemic therapy? Is there something pharmacists could be listening for?

SPEAKER_00

There's quite a few things. So dermatologists are going to be your friends in this case because they're going to have some of those tools like body surface measurement. How involved is the body in this? Is it just one area or your just your left arm, or is it your whole body? Um, so you can also ask patients questions like that. Quality of life is really big. So there are obviously standardized ways you can measure quality of life, and those happen in the clinical trials of these drugs, but it's really important now so that it's being measured with pretty much every new clinical trial that's coming out. So even asking your patients some quality of life questions can kind of indicate how severe their atopic dermatitis is.

Foundational Care And Topical Options

SPEAKER_01

Excellent. Okay, thanks for highlighting that. And again, because of these conversations we often have with patients, it is something that can come up for other reasons. And then maybe that a discussion around poor sleep could be leading to the conversation about, oh, well, this is because I'm having itching that's really bothering me at night, I'm having trouble sleeping, and then digging further from there. Um, so thinking about the treatment options, and I starting with sort of the non-systemic options, the topical options, what are the baseline foundational therapies that we're thinking about for atopic dermatitis?

SPEAKER_00

Sure. So, regardless of severity, foundational management is gonna be moisturizer, regular moisturizer. And some other non-farm things that you can think about are gentle bathing practices, avoiding harsh soaps or allergens, addressing your infections early. And then when you're thinking about more of these topical therapies that are prescribed, you're thinking about topical calcin urine inhibitors like psychosporin or techrolimus, sorry about that, your topical corticosteroids as well. And then newly topical PDE4 and JAC inhibitors. So JAC inhibitors are things like roxalit nib and kind of those IB biologic names, nibs, that you can identify to be your topicals as well.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. So that's a that's a good point. Okay, let's let's start with the moisturizers actually, because I think that's one of the most confusing areas. There's so many moisturizers out there and they're all marketed in very different ways. And what are what are sort of the guidelines around how to choose a moisturizer for somebody who has eczema? That's atopic dermatitis.

SPEAKER_00

Um, yeah, we don't dive super deep into moisturizers in the guidelines. It is called out that it's important to moisturize one or two times daily to keep up with barrier repair because the barrier of your skin is really the most important part to keep foundationally managed throughout whether you're on topical, systemic, you want to keep your skin hydrated. So it's common practices like moisturizing after you bathe, using gentle moisturizers, nothing with really harsh scents or smells and things of that nature. So yeah, we just kind of hit on making sure that you stay moisturized.

SPEAKER_01

Moisturized. Okay. So I'm glad that you called that out. And again, helping patients look for fragrance-free, hypoallergenic, those sorts of things are at least a place to start. Um, and then as you mentioned, some of the other avoiding maybe hot showers, drying out the skin, and moisturizing after bathing to help sort of maybe lock in that moisture a little bit. I I those just seem like very important points to reiterate on a regular basis when chatting with patients about management, because it is foundational, as you said. Um, and then you highlighted a few different topical treatments. And I think many of us probably think of topical steroids as a cornerstone of care for atopic dermatitis. So, could you speak a little bit about the role of topical steroids, especially given that we have newer agents now and where they fit in and appropriate use considerations there? I think patients have sometimes heard of some of the side effects with topical steroids or or even systemic steroids and translate them to topical. So help us understand the place in therapy for topical steroids for atopic dermatitis.

SPEAKER_00

Sure. So the most recent topical therapy guidelines do strongly have strong evidence-based recommendations for topical corticosteroids. So they are still a cornerstone of therapy. Whether patients are starting a biologic, their dermatologist often recommends to continue on their corticosteroid. But there are a lot of counseling points, you know, in terms of not staying on them too long, because you can have where your skin starts to become dependent on the corticosteroid. So there are a few counseling points to watch out for, especially in terms of watching your patients on topical corticosteroids and making sure that they're not staying on them for years and years and years.

SPEAKER_01

And in terms of using it appropriately, using it on the affected area for the duration of time as educated by your prescriber, um, using but but still ensuring that patients feel comfortable using the steroid to achieve relief, right? Like they, I think that's something patients maybe have heard of the side effects and are concerned, and that steroid phobia is something we want to avoid because, as you said, we want to help bring down the flare if it's occurring, right?

SPEAKER_00

Right. And they are kind of considered that rescue therapy. So using them as directed, so applying them always in thin layers once or twice daily is usually the directions applied. And yeah, just watching out for those areas on your skin that might be more sensitive, you know, face groin folds in your skin, any broken skin or infected skin you want to kind of stay away or put even lighter layer on those areas.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. And if those areas are affected and maybe require long-term management, is that when you start to think about some of these other topical options, like the topical calcineurin inhibitors or some of the other newer topical products, or is that for more severe sort of cases?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, that can be possible. Up to the dermatologist or allergist or PCP, they may deem that your atopic dermatitis is a little bit more severe and might try that topical JAC inhibitor or topical PDE4 inhibitor before trying systemic. Although if they deem it to be too severe, they might just jump right to the systemic.

SPEAKER_01

And I guess the other consideration too with those other options would be costs because there are newer medications, no generics generally available for some of those. And the thing that comes to mind with some of the topical JAC inhibitors, for example, is that they often have a lot of the box warnings as the oral jack inhibitors, which can be quite alarming, I think. So, how do you help put that in perspective?

SPEAKER_00

It is their boxed warnings are class-wide. So the same warnings for oral versus topical. So it's it's part of patient, you know, shared decision making, whether they are looking into pros and cons of each medication, including some things like pharmacists can help with, which is going to be cost of the medication, which is some might say one of the largest barriers for patients to have some of these medications. They are extremely effective as they have strong recommendations for them in our guidelines. However, if patients don't have access to them, it is tough. So there's a thin line between, you know, kind of that shared decision-making process between the patient. They might come to the pharmacist with some questions on cost, they might go to their dermatologist on questions on efficacy and kind of working together so the patient can find the best fit for them.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, excellent point. As you said, it's not going to work if the patient can't afford it. So that's that's gonna be an important part that pharmacists are gonna help play with. Um, uh, in terms of the topical calcium urine inhibitors, so the pemicolimus, tecrolimus, what is the role of them versus topical steroids? Can you clarify that? Because they are generic and they have been around for a while. And it seems a little murkier where those fit in if you're starting for more mild to moderate condition versus the moderate to severe, where where would you describe those fitting in?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so the topical calcinurin inhibitors are non-steroidal. So if the steroids that patients are using are either ineffective or unsuitable because their doctor doesn't want them on another immunosuppressant of some sort, they might turn to topical calcinurine inhibitors prior to starting any systemic therapy. So they're they're kind of just like this other option for patients where steroids aren't working or they're just not a good fit.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. And so would you sort of put them in the same bucket as the topical PDE4 inhibitors and the topical JAC inhibitors? Are they all sort of options? There's a menu of options that a clinician could choose from.

SPEAKER_00

Exactly. With the recent guidelines in atopic dermatitis, this condition is expanding. And the fact that there are now many options that work versus just maybe like psoriasis or another condition where things are getting better and better and more efficacious and safer as they come out. Atopic dermatitis has kind of this array of options that providers can choose from.

Systemic Therapies Biologics And JAK Inhibitors

SPEAKER_01

Okay, that's great to know. And that I think ties back to that decision shared decision-making process that we need to be aware of when thinking about managing this. So that's a great overview of the topicals. How about the systemics? Moving into that a bit more now, because I know I think we've seen sort of an explosion of systemic options available, both injectable biologics and then also oral jack inhibitors. So let's get the rundown on that. Where do those systemic options play? And I think you alluded to already it's more for the moderate to severe atopic dermatitis, but can you expand on that a bit?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, exactly. So we'll start with the guidelines. So systemic agents that were strongly recommended to be used in the AD guidelines were dupeliumab, trilokiniumab, abrocit nib, baracit nib, and upatocytinib. And then with the focus update, there were additional strong evidence-based recommendations for leberkisiumab and nemolisiumab. So all of those together to say that we have now oral biologics and systemic biologics via injection that both work. So the oral jack inhibitors work the same ways I explained, kind of like topically, by inhibiting the Janus kinase pathway. So we're inhibiting inflammatory signals from coming to this to the top of the skin and feeling that. But we also have the biologics that target IL4, IL13, IL31. And those selective biologics just target the specific cytokine themselves versus the Jack inhibitors target the enzymatic pathway that. They use. So they're kind of working a little bit differently, but getting similar outcomes. When you think about per pharmacist counseling patients on these different types of therapies, counseling patients on biologics are going to be similar to biologics for other conditions. So, like regular injection site counseling, the fact that they will most likely be prescribed this, but also to continue with your topical therapy and moisturizers, unless your doctor tells you to discontinue those. And then, like you mentioned with the class-wide box warnings of JEK inhibitors, thinking about those most common adverse effects and letting the patients know about those so that they can make informed decisions.

SPEAKER_01

And we actually, I don't think we specified what those box warnings were. So could you briefly highlight what those warnings are about?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So for JEK inhibitors, there are box warnings, I believe, for increased risk of serious mace events. So heart-related events, heart attack or stroke. And then there are also box warnings regarding some cancers, I believe, lymphoma, later, blood clots, or death, as a lot of some box warnings have to include that. So it's a variety of items in those warnings. However, it's all a part of the shared decision making because if this is, you know, maybe a second line to something that isn't been working before, a patient might weigh those risk and benefits. And like we said, with the mental health burden, sleep, and these other things that we need to have a fulfilling and productive quality of life, um, a patient may choose a JAC inhibitor.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. And I in general, is there any sort of outside of those warnings with the JAK inhibitors, any any other considerations with the intraleucan inhibitors or other systemic therapies more broadly that help sort of shape or guide one choice versus another in terms of efficacy or costs, or I guess injectable versus oral is a consideration, but any other sort of key things that we should be aware of to help differentiate?

SPEAKER_00

Injectable versus oral is big because that's going to be a patient preference. And sometimes that might also be associated with cost. Um, some other items might be comorbidities, age. If a patient has any other inflammatory conditions or cancers, they might stay away from one or the other. So there's a lot of different patient factors that go into it, like many choices. But the good thing is that there are many choices for patients in this condition. So if one doesn't work, you most likely have the option of trying a different drug.

SPEAKER_01

Yep, great point. Any you you highlighted age there. Is there any preference one way or another in the guidelines in terms of which options? We talked about this being a common issue in pediatric patients. Are any preferred for children over others, or is that also just part of the general shared decision-making process?

SPEAKER_00

Also part of the shared decision-making process, patients will most likely be going to a pediatric dermatologist. So they'll be really in tune with what is recommended for patients and to note the pediatric atopic dermatitis guideline is going to be separate from those that we've been talking about. So it would be good for pharmacists if you have a pediatric patient to specifically look at the pediatric guidelines.

SPEAKER_01

So, in terms of we touched on before the idea of being proactive and that some patients may go to a systemic option perhaps earlier than in the past. Would you say that's the case? Are more people, are more people with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis starting out with a systemic therapy in addition to a topical, perhaps? Or how is that, how are we thinking about that initial diagnosis and presentation and how that ties into what level of treatment you'd be going for?

SPEAKER_00

So there's quite a few ways of um reasons why dermatologists and other providers might just jump right into a systemic therapy. Um like I mentioned before, there's there's gonna be those signs and symptoms on the patient, like the lesions themselves. How how do they look? What's their morphology, the symptom burden, how many symptoms is this patient experiencing, and how quickly do we need to get them relief? And then there's also some like severity score indexes that are tied to all of these drugs. It's called the eczema area and severity index or EASI easy scores in clinical trials. And so these are scores that really look at the drug and how efficacious they are over a period of time. So after a period of time, is 75% of their disease cleared or is 90% of their disease cleared? And if you look at the guidelines or any of the clinical trials themselves, you'll be able to see the scores of each drug. Um, so that's also a way that providers commonly pick out a systemic is looking at some of those more efficacious drugs that get patients quick relief sooner. Okay, interesting.

Counseling For Proactive Long Term Management

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I think it's it's helpful to understand that it's not something that patients should necessarily wait and suffer with, that it is something we should be discussing and and bringing up to providers to ensure that they're getting treatment and helping to manage those symptoms, uh, especially considering some of the impact on quality of life that you mentioned. Yeah, excellent. So I think we have a good overview of the treatment options and in terms of just sort of tying this all together and thinking about the impact pharmacist can have. I know we sort of threaded that throughout this discussion as well. But what are some of the key counseling points with any atopic dermatitis therapy that you'd want patients to be aware of if you were working with a patient directly or even working with a colleague and thinking about how to help care for that patient? What are some of the key takeaways that we should be aware of with these treatments in general?

SPEAKER_00

Sure. So when counseling patients with atopic dermatitis, there are a couple different cornerstones that would be great for them to either hear for a second time because hopefully their provider already counseled them on, if not hear from you as that last line of defense. So daily skincare, like I said, is going to be foundational, moisturizing at least, you know, one to two times per day, using those gentle, fragrance-free cleansers, keeping showers lukewarm, not hot, and applying moisturizer right after bathing. Um, second would be to use the medications as prescribed. The prescription creams can be tricky because people are used to using all different types of topicals at home, whether that's just for the regular skincare or if it's in the winter because they're feeling a little dry. It's important to note that some of these topicals need to be applied thinly in thin layers to prevent any adverse effects from happening that might not be necessary or if you were to apply it the right way. Um, and then kind of similar to other chronic conditions, not stopping your maintenance therapy just because things are looking better, it's a great time to continue therapy and check in with your provider and let them know the updates of that it's going well, but not stopping the therapy because that it, like we said, this condition kind of waxes and wanes and might just um come back a little bit stronger if you decide to go off the medication on your own.

SPEAKER_01

Sort of keeping on top of it, reinforcing the importance of adherence. Like you said, with many other medicines, we we think about that also, but it's not sort of one and done situation with atopic dermatitis either. It's a it's a chronic condition that needs long-term management.

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_01

Emphasizing those points is important. And I also like how you reiterated the importance of those non-pharmacological measures and also the daily moisturizing is sort of the foundation that's underlying everything that we've talked about today.

SPEAKER_00

It is, it's the foundation, and it's really important to make sure your patients realize that because they might not get the full benefits of therapy while using a systemic or other topicals if they're not properly moisturized. So it is really foundational.

SPEAKER_01

Great point to call out that you could be spending a lot of money on another treatment and not using your moisturizer and getting the most benefit. So, really important point to call out. Any other key points or barriers that you see patients having with atopic dermatitis management that pharmacists can help overcome outside of the adherence consideration? I think that one is super important. Anything else that comes to mind?

SPEAKER_00

I think just assisting patients who you might see are getting steroid after steroid at the pharmacy on that level is important to remember because that might trigger you to ask a question to the patient of, okay, this is your third time refilling this steroid. Um, can you explain to me a little bit more about what's going on? When's the last time you had to check in with your doctor? When's the last time you saw your dermatologist, et cetera, just to make sure that they're not sticking these band-aids on that aren't going to help them long term.

SPEAKER_01

Great point. Being alert for that. And especially if it's a higher potency steroid, and it's also thinking about how often they're refilling it or what extent they're using it, those sorts of questions I think could come up in that conversation too. Great point. All right. Well, Melanie, this has been a great discussion. To wrap up, this is our game changers podcast. So we always wrap up by asking, what do you see as the game changer with this topic? And what would you want our listeners to walk away with today?

SPEAKER_00

Sure. So if I had to sum up the biggest game changer, it's that we, as providers, now treat atopic dermatitis as a disease with this proactive management that deserves long-term attention. It's not just a short course of rescue therapy during flares. And pharmacists are definitely central to making that model work because we can catch when a patient is not doing that proactive management. Um, so I'd encourage pharmacists and other providers to continue to read updated guidelines as they come out, stay current on emerging therapies. As we noted, four more therapies just came out in our focused update. So it is important to stay on top of all of these options that we have for our patients.

CE Reminder And Sign Off

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. Great summary. And I like I say, I really appreciate that the guidelines have been updated to address some of these neurotherapies because often there's that gap between those therapies being approved and not necessarily knowing where they might fit into practice. So definitely the American Academy of Der American Academy of Dermatology has all of those guideline summaries on the on their website and they're pretty easy to find. So it's a great resource additional to keep learning, as you said, and help stay on top of some of that. Thank you so much, Melanie, for your time. Really appreciate it. And your expertise has been wonderful here. Thank you. Of course. Thank you so much. So, listeners, be sure to claim your CE credit for this episode of Game Changers by logging in at CEimpact.com. And as always, have a great week and keep learning. I can't wait to dig into another game changing topic with you all next week.