Geographic Distribution of Psoriatic Disease Experts in the USA and Canada

Departments Included in Project: Pritzker School of Medicine, Other, Dermatology

Project Classification: Timeliness, Patient Centeredness

Project Notes/Comments:

The powerpoint version of my poster was too big to submit, I tried in both .ppt and .pptx formats and they were still too big. I submitted a smaller version and emailed the pptx version to Amethyst, I hope that is okay! If not, please reach out to me at daynapham@uchicagomedicine.org and I can figure something out. Thanks so much! Also, I am not affiliated with any ABMS Member Board, but it didn't let me leave that one blank. Thanks!

Does the work incorporate equity?

Although all dermatologists can diagnose and treat psoriasis, developing a clinical relationship with a psoriatic disease expert (PDE) is often very helpful, especially due to the complex comorbidities of psoriatic disease. As a patient of moderate-to-severe psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis myself who has largely lived in low-income, under-resourced areas, I have never had a PDE as my own provider. With this, I have often felt like I had to convince my dermatologist and rheumatologist of my symptoms or teach them about how my other symptoms are linked to psoriatic disease. However, when I attend conferences through the National Psoriasis Foundation and the International Psoriasis Council, the information that I felt I had to teach or convince was knowledge that these PDE’s knew like the back of their hand. Just talking to them about my experiences and hearing how familiar they were with these topics and how experienced they were with specifically psoriatic disease patients was extremely validating. This is a phenomenon expressed as very common in the psoriatic disease community. As a volunteer patient advocate with the National Psoriasis Foundation, I have met plenty of fellow psoriatic disease and chronic illness patients who come out of their visits feeling misunderstood, like they had to convince their provider of their symptoms. Then, when they go to patient conferences and meet PDE’s, they feel validated like they are not crazy for their experiences. Therefore, with the lived experiences of our patients, we hope to bring awareness to this issue of the skewed distribution of PDE’s, disproportionately impacting patients from low-income, marginalized communities. By bringing attention to this topic, we hope to inspire institutions to brainstorm about how to support communities that do not have access to their care.

Does this work address any of the UChicago Medicine quality priorities as listed on the Clinical Excellence Scorecard?

Patient Experience