29 October 2020
By IFPA
29 October 2020 – Today, the Global Psoriasis Coalition (GPC) and the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations (IFPA) launched the Psoriatic Disease Response Index, the first-ever effort to comprehensively survey, quantify, and analyze health systems’ responses to psoriatic disease on an international scale.
“With the launch of this report and the conclusions we draw, we can see how psoriatic disease can be a model condition to gauge the overall well-being of a health system,” says Dr. Hoseah Waweru, IFPA President. “These are important learnings, especially given the current strain on healthcare systems worldwide, and are critical to help those suffering from psoriatic disease improve their access to care, feel empowered, and have a voice.”
Through the valuation of selected enablers and barriers, opportunities are identified for how each country can identify, treat, and support people living with psoriatic disease, including mitigating the negative individual, societal and economic costs. The countries examined were Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The analysis compiles and weighs indicators to create an assessment of the five countries’ performance. The Index evaluates psoriatic disease across the following categories: public awareness, provider awareness, patient engagement, health systems, and enabling environment.
“This community has achieved a lot in the past years. We hope this Index will help enable a much-needed policy conversation at local level, where change can happen faster”, says Mario Ottiglio, Managing Director at the High Lantern Group and supporting the Global Psoriasis Coalition. “Timely and sustained action is needed to encourage early detection and access to care. Political and institutional leaders must champion the issue to give it the attention it deserves. The solutions won’t be achieved overnight, but the time to commit is now as we have seen that health system capacities and responses are essential, now more than ever.”
It was virtually launched today, World Psoriasis Day at the 29th Congress of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venerology.
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