There's a misperception among clinicians and reimbursement agencies that external genital warts is a trivial condition that's inexpensive to treat. And that existing, mainly physician-administered therapies are effective and resource sparing. But research conducted in the UK by 3M Pharmaceuticals challenges these perceptions, and indicates the need to rethink treatment algorithms for external genital warts. At the ISPOR*3rd Annual European Conference [Antwerp, Belgium; November 2000], Dr Paul Langley from 3M Pharmaceuticals and Mr Bob Rash from Health Market International, US, presented the results of their UK treatment pattern survey, and discussed its implications for the treatment of external genital warts.