Time for dialogue on more solutions - SM campaign fight for yourself

The successes of this long-standing dialogue are considered to be the drug program's access to all registered MS treatment therapies in Europe, including treatment of spasticity. This situation has evolved over the years. Today, not only do doctors have a full range of therapeutic options, but most importantly, patients can co-determine the therapy that best suits their treatment needs. Importantly, one that also suits their lifestyle and work. This provides an invaluable sense of security, because we know that if one therapy is not right for us, there are options to change to another. MS is a chronic disease, the patient stays with it for the rest of his or her life, and thinking about what will happen in two, five or ten years is an important prospect, but it is also sometimes a concern for people with chronic diseases. It is also an undisputed success that access to treatment with most therapies is in line with drug registration indications.

Therapies are evaluating and evolving. Drugs that were only possible to administer in a hospital setting have, over time, taken on a friendlier form of administration to the patient by subcutaneous injection, for example. This is a natural evolution and here, too, we are not lagging behind Europe.

"What we are also very pleased about, we feel as patients the improving organization of MS care. More and more procedures are being performed on an outpatient basis with a maximum short stay for the patient in the hospital. Tests are being ordered for the next follow-up visit earlier, a shortened medical record is being kept, medications are being dispensed by hospital pharmacies, we are not waiting for MRI scans, in several places, steroid therapy is being administered on an outpatient basis in a relapse situation, and as a result, beds are not being occupied by more severely ill patients."- explains Malina Wieczorek, President of the Fight for Yourself MS Foundation.

The opening of Poland's first Comprehensive Multiple Sclerosis Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Zabrze in the fall was a huge achievement. "It's a project that will provide our patients with optimized diagnostic care, treatment but also access to outpatient rehabilitation." - She told the portal School of Motivation SM-walcz o siebie Prof. Monika Adamczyk-Sowa, MD - "As for news, at this year's ECTRIMS conference there were new diagnostic criteria that we will use in diagnosing multiple sclerosis. As for treatment, we now have almost twenty molecules to treat MS, but it doesn't stop there, as a new era of drugs, mainly targeting B lymphocytes, lies ahead."

What's in the future?

The most important thing is that the perception of the need for a rapid diagnostic and therapeutic pathway is understood among subsequent decision-makers. So that the dialogue, which is ongoing, continues for many years to come. Any solution that streamlines the work of physicians and minimizes the number of visits to those necessary will be supportive of all participants in the treatment process. For example, by creating comprehensive coordination centers, by shifting the burden of diagnosis to outpatient care.

"We are at a dynamic stage in the development of neurology, neurology that is rushing. Never before has so much depended on the organization and efficiency of the system. That's why it's important to have centers where the patient gets a quick diagnosis, where the patient gets well-targeted treatment from the beginning and a quick change when it's needed, but most importantly, the patient gets multidisciplinary care." - noted Prof. Bartosz Karaszewski, MD, National Consultant for Neurology, in an interview with the School of Motivation, "One of my flagship tasks is the emergence of coordinated care systems."

It would also be an improvement to introduce a separate rehabilitation benefit dedicated to MS patients, so that they are not lost in the system and do not wait in endless queues for rehabilitation and physiotherapy.

"The image of the MS patient has changed a lot in recent years. This is a group of people who no longer treat the diagnosis like a wheelchair sentence. We are fighting for smart and responsible solutions to maintain fitness, and normal social functioning. And we will continue to do so. We start families, become mothers, fathers, travel, work, dream and pursue our passions. And all this is because Poland is no longer "lagging behind," it has made up a lot of ground over the past years, we have been heard by decision-makers. And now it's time for dialogue on the next solutions." - concludes Malina Wieczorek, President of the SM Fight for Yourself Foundation.

These topics and many others are brought closer by the SM-fight for yourself campaign, with new expert recordings dedicated to patients, targeted for broadcast on the Internet, social media and the School of Motivation portal(www.szkola-motywacji.pl). The recordings support PR activities and posts encouraging a holistic approach to health.

The activities were under the Honorary Patronage of: Polish Neurological Society, MS and Neuroimmunology Section of PTN, National Consultant in Neurology, Department of Psychology at Warsaw University, Institute of Healthcare Management at Lazarski University.

The annual campaign was developed in partnership with Biogen, Roche, Sanofi, Johnson&Johnson and IPSEN. Partner organizations are PTSR, the Multiple Sclerosis.info Foundation and the Ursula Jaworska Foundation.

Source: Press Mat.