Rome, 23 March (beraking latest news Salute) – PsoPoint, the digital platform that helps psoriasis patients to maintain an active dialogue with the specialist, is back. Through the website www.impattoinvisibile.it, interested citizens will have the opportunity to remotely get in touch with dermatologists belonging to the Italian hospital dermatologists-venereologists association (Adoi) and to the Italian Society of Medical, Surgical, Aesthetic and Disease Dermatology sexually transmitted (Sidemast). The specialist, through an online video-consultation, will answer doubts and questions, will provide information on the pathology, any indications on the paths, advising, if necessary, to go to a center specialized in the treatment of psoriasis in their region.
The initiative, born last year to ensure continuity of care even during the lockdown – reports a note – has become a point of reference for patients with psoriasis and, in light of the success achieved and the appreciation shown by the participants and of specialists, is proposed again with 12 national events that will be held from April to December.
The PsoPoint program was created as part of the “Visible Psoriasis. Invisible impact – We look beyond appearances “, promoted by Amgen, leader in pharmaceutical biotechnology, together with Adipso (Association for the defense of psoriasis) Adoi and Sidemast to redefine the perception of disease, which affects body and psyche, and strengthen the alliance doctor-patient.
“Psoriasis is an extremely heterogeneous disease from a clinical point of view and can manifest itself in different forms and severities. In the most severe forms it can be associated with other pathologies such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, hypercholesterolemia, obesity and moreover, it is often associated to a set of ‘invisible’ disorders of the psychic sphere “, says Ketty Peris, President Sidemast, Full Professor of Dermatology and Uoc Director of Dermatology at the Catholic University Foundation Policlinico Gemelli, Irccs in Rome. “Each psoriatic patient – he underlines – is a case in itself. Precisely for this reason there are specific assistance paths that the dermatologist specialist recommends according to the clinical case, so that the patient can be followed and treated in an optimal way”.
The Covid-19 emergency has made managing the disease even more difficult. “Patients have had to make many sacrifices, sometimes giving up checks and dialogue with the dermatologist. We could say that the ‘PsoPoint’ initiative has come at the right time and we are proud of the goals achieved last year”, states Francesco Cusano, President Adoi and director of UOC of Dermatology, San Pio hospital ‘Gaetano Rummo’ hospital in Benevento. “PsoPoint has put dialogue, hope, information and trust back into circulation and patients have no longer felt abandoned to themselves and has made it possible to establish contact, albeit remotely, between patients and dermatologists”.
“Because of the sense of shame and inadequacy, the patient isolates himself, closes himself in the house with a negative effect on the quality of life and a worsening of the psoriasis itself”, underlines Mara Maccarone, president of Adipso. “In addition to information, it is essential to be able to contact a specialist immediately because it means getting treated earlier. In this sense, the ‘PsoPoint’ platform has actively contributed to putting patients in contact with specialists in the area. A first step to help the hesitant patient and suspicious, who thinks that the pathology cannot be treated, to speak to a specialist and if necessary be directed to a reference center for psoriasis “.
The Covid-19 emergency “that hit the health system has had a strong impact on taking care of patients with chronic diseases and has imposed new methods of assistance and treatment that rely on the potential of digital, solutions that will be destined to have further developments in the future “, says Maria Luce Vegna, Medical Director of Amgen Italia. “In Amgen we have activated solutions to support patients with chronic inflammatory diseases and ‘PsoPoint’ was a virtuous example. Last year the program in fact received a decidedly comforting consensus, demonstrating how strong the need of patients to maintain the relationship was with the specialist and that there are no suspicions or foreclosures towards the digital dimension “.
PsoPoint will take place according to methods tested in the first phase: interested patients will be able to access the platform from all over Italy through the website www.impattoinvisibile.it and carry out a ‘telematic triage’ by answering a short anonymous questionnaire. If identified by the system as eligible for contact with the dermatologist, the patient will be redirected to the portal dedicated to the consultation and will be able to choose the day of the appointment. The 12 PsoPoint appointments will take place from 9 to 13 and from 14 to 18 on the following dates: 14 and 15 April; 6 and 7 October; 21 and 22 April; 2 and 3 December; 29 and 30 September; 9 and 10 December.