Hidradenitis Suppurativa Encounters in a National Electronic Health Record Database Notable for Low Dermatology Utilization, Infrequent Biologic Prescriptions, and Frequent Opiate Prescriptions

The study analyzed 22,331 encounters of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) in 8,539 patients from a national electronic health record database. It found that HS encounters were most common with family or internal medicine providers (51.9%) and that dermatology was involved in only 20.3% of cases. Opiates were frequently prescribed (18.1% of patients), while non-antibiotic systemic treatments were infrequently used (2.7%), though their use increased after the FDA approval of adalimumab. Outpatient visits without procedures that involved dermatology were less likely to result in opiate prescriptions and more likely to involve non-antibiotic systemic treatments. The study highlighted the need for improved dermatology access and more effective management strategies for HS.