The Modern Psoriatic Care Team

Christopher T. Richtlin, MD, MPH: Well, there are many centers around the country—ours is one, there's New York, Philadelphia, Boston—where we see patients with dermatologists. So, the patient was psoriatic disease is evaluated by a dermatologist, rheumatologist, often trainees, rheumatology fellows, and dermatology residents. We find that this is a very effective strategy to be able to discuss the various elements of the patient's presentation with dermatology present to provide perspectives.

But it goes beyond that rheumatology-dermatology dyad. There's also other elements that relate to the comorbidities I just mentioned, and that includes gastroenterology, cardiovascular disease, endocrinology, and, of course, the general practitioner. This is a team that really is virtual and real. So, the "real team," in terms of being in the office include dermatology and rheumatology, but they're reaching out to these other caregivers to address specific problems that these patients are addressing. We also use psychiatry a lot, and nutrition for weight loss and optimizing dietary regimens. So, there's a lot of support that's required for some patients in order for them to manage the journey with this disease.