Survey of the professional interrelations between dermatologist and pharmacist.

A national survey of dermatologists and pharmacists was conducted to characterize the involvement of the community pharmacist in the area of skin diseases and to elicit suggestions to improve professional interrelations. The results show the dermatologists' major complaint is pharmacists' inability or unwillingness to compound prescriptions. The study clearly indicates the need for increased communication between the two professions in matters such as inventory control, prescription refill procedures, and substitution guidelines. The pharmacists, in general, admitted a deficiency in their educational preparedness to recognize common skin disorders, thus limiting their ability to assess the severity of patients' complaints.