The State of Rheumatology: Barriers to Practice and Challenges to Patient Care

Reaching targeted disease audiences continues to be a top priority for Let My Doctors Decide (LMDD) including rheumatology patients, providers, and other key stakeholders. This week’s American College of Rheumatology’s (ACR) annual meeting, ACR Convergence 2021, provides an excellent opportunity for LMDD to raise awareness about continued access and affordability issues.

LMDD is proud to support #ACR21 as we raise  awareness about how access restrictions delay health and wellness and what can be done to adopt meaningful reforms to preserve the critical doctor/patient relationship. This year, LMDD is also highlighting today’s challenging rheumatology environment and illustrating the increased difficulties for providers to actually “practice” according to their training, further complicated by access barriers and the negative impact to the doctor/patient relationship.

Watch LMDD’s new video (below) featuring adult rheumatologist, Dr. Madelaine Feldman; pediatric rheumatologist, Dr. Harry Gewanter; and the Executive Director of the National Organzation of Rheumatology Managers, Andrea Zlatkas discussing the current state of their practice and the continuing barriers that delay health and wellness.

Changes are needed, and LMDD continues to advocate for the adoption of patient-centered principles for benefit designs and related contracting that are transparent and build upon the clinician-patient relationship by focusing coverage policies on Empowering Provider Decision-making; Promoting Access and Adherence; and Addressing Affordability.

It’s time to put patients first.

For more information, visit the LMDD website.