"Mr./Mrs. <name> has been under my care since <date> and suffers from generalized vitiligo over <parts of the body>, which is now greater than <...%> of his/her body surface area. The patient has a history active vitiligo, which requires immediate treatment to limit further progression of the disease and prevent appearance of new lesions.
Topical and oral medications have been tried first, including <drug name> for <duration period> with no effect.
The patient has also been treated with ultraviolet lights type B (UVB) in our clinic and has shown significant improvement. As vitiligo is usually a life-long condition that requires scheduled follow-up with a low-dose maintenance therapy to minimize risk of relapse, my patient will most likely require UV light treatment for indefinite use. An FDA approved home-based UV light device would be effective for the patient’s condition.
The home UV light unit would be of lower cost than the same treatment at a clinic as vitiligo is a chronic condition generally requiring a minimum of 130 treatments over just the next 12 months. The results of home-based UV therapy are comparable to a clinic-based therapy with a lesser socio-economic burden to a patient. Each in-clinic visit will cost approximately <e.g. $85.00> yielding a minimum yearly treatment cost of more than <e.g. $11,000> whereas a one-time cost of a home UV unit is only <$...>.
Therefore, I am recommending <brand name, model> with Narrowband UVB lamps due to its ease of use, effectiveness and relative safety - derived from the device’s control of maximum exposure time coupled with its physician controlled timer where I can guide the patient’s use through periodic visits in my office. I feel my patient is capable of operating the home UV unit and staying within prescribed exposure times."