National Psoriasis Foundation on Improving the Lives of Patients

Millions of Americans with psoriatic arthritis—a serious disease that causes pain, swelling and stiffness of the joints and tendons, and can result in joint damage if left untreated—struggle to get the health care and treatments they need to manage their condition. National Psoriasis Foundation plans to change with the largest realignment and expansion of its psoriatic arthritis program. For nearly two decades, the Psoriasis Foundation has provided disease-management services and information to people with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), which affects as many as one in three people with psoriasis, the most common autoimmune disease in the country. In 2012, an estimated 75,000 people with PsA accessed the Psoriasis Foundation for information and services. Despite sharing similarities with rheumatoid arthritis—including painful symptoms and disease prevalence of approximately 1 million people—there are significantly fewer resources for people with psoriatic arthritis than for those with rheumatoid arthritis. People with psoriatic arthritis require more! To address these disparities, the National Psoriasis Foundation PsA Project will focus on four areas: Decreasing the average time of diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis from four years to one year; Helping people with PsA better manage their disease; Reducing barriers to health care and treatments; Improving understanding of PsA symptoms, disease management and impact on patient quality of life among health care providers.  The...
Source: PHRMA - Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Source Type: news