Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/709194
A S AMERICA'S POPUL ATION CONTINUES TO AGE, THERE'S MORE NEED THAN E VER FOR INCRE A SED ACCESS TO DIAGNOSIS AND TRE ATMENT OF RHEUMATIC DISE A SES. CONSIDER THAT APPROXIMATELY 50 MILLION AMERICANS, OR ONE IN FIVE ADULTS, SUFFER FROM RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, LUPUS OR OTHER AUTOIMMUNE DISE A SES. WOMEN ARE MORE LIKELY THAN MEN TO BE AFFECTED, WITH SOME ESTIMATES INDICATING THAT 75 PERCENT OF THOSE AFFECTED ¤ SOME 37 MILLION PEOPLE ¤ ARE FEMALE. BY ALEX LANDERS Unity Health Network Rheumatology is led by board-certified rheumatologists (L-R) Rachel Waldman, MD, and Kim Stewart, MD. " Luckily we know more now than ever before about these conditions ... ." • RACHEL WALDMAN, MD Unit y Hea lth Network, the la rgest independent physicia n group in Northeast Ohio, has responded to this need loca lly by adding a R heumatolog y Division to its hea lthca re specia lt y offerings. Launched in April of this year, Unity Health Network R heumatolog y is led by board-certif ied rheumatologists Kim Stewa r t, MD, a nd Rachel Wa ldma n, MD. Dr. Stewa r t ea rned her medica l doctorate at Nor thea st Ohio Medica l Universit y a nd completed her rheumatolog y fellowship at the Clevela nd Clinic. Dr. Wa ldma n ea rned her doctorate at The Ohio State Universit y a nd completed her fellowship at University Hospita ls Case Medica l Center. Both physicia ns a re members of the ACR a nd Clinicia ns for the Internationa l Societ y for Clinica l Densitometr y (CISCD). " R heumatic disea ses a re of ten complex i n nat ure a nd dif f icu lt to dia g nose," says Dr. Wa ldma n. "Seeing a rheu- matolog ist ea rly on ca n help patients avoid wa iting months to yea rs before receiving what is of ten life-cha ng ing help." Dr. Stewa r t echoes t hat approa ch . " For pat ient s w it h autoimmune a nd inf la mmator y disea ses, rheumatolog y is centra l to ea rly dia g nosis a nd treatment , which ev idence suggests is most impor ta nt within the f irst few months of disease onset to limit joint damage, improve physica l function a nd induce remission," she says. Because of the complexity of rheumatic diseases, Dr. Stewart a nd Dr. Wa ldma n approach each ca se in a unique ma nner, focusi n g on l ist en i n g to t he pat ient , u nderst a nd i n g t he symptoms a nd helping through treatment a nd education. " The abi lit y to ma na ge ma ny autoimmune disea ses ha s progressed sig nif ica ntly. A nd because we have more patient data , resea rch a nd treatment options, we have a n improved oppor tunit y to help patients f ig ure out what 's going on with TO ADD TO this g rowing hea lthca re issue, the numbers of rheumatologists cannot meet the demand. A study by research- ers from the A merican College of R heumatolog y (ACR) noted that in 2013 there were only about 1.5 rheumatologists to serve ever y 100,000 people in the U.S. The ACR a lso projected that by 2025 there would be a shor tage of 2,500 rheumatolog ists. Addresses Increased Demand for Diagnosis and Treatment of Autoimmune and Inflammatory Disease Unity Health Network Adds Rheumatology Division PHOTO BY KEN LOVE, COURTESY OF UNITY HEALTH NETWORK 1 0P R A C T I C E S P O T L I G H T