Dr Irwin Lim Australians Living With Chronic Health Condition Urged To Raise Their Voice Interview

Dr Irwin Lim Australians Living With Chronic Health Condition Urged To Raise Their Voice Interview

Australians living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are being encouraged to openly discuss their overall health, emotional well-being and treatment challenges with their doctor to improve their quality of life.

New research shows more than half of people living with RA feel their lives are controlled by their condition. However, only 56% of patients discuss the impact RA has on their lives with their specialist. RA, which affects more than 420,000 Australians, can have a debilitating impact on a person's physical health and can be compounded by mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression.

A new online resource is being launched today to help support Australians living with this chronic health condition find the information they need to improve their overall health. Healthshare's Rheumatoid Arthritis Topic Page will allow those affected by RA to engage directly with specialists online, in a non-confronting environment.

Healthshare aims to provide a way for those affected by a health problem, including family, friends and carers, to ask questions of qualified healthcare professionals that will help build their knowledge and, as a result, assist them in gaining more control over their condition.

'A visiting patient equipped with an understanding of their condition and treatment options can really improve the quality of a consultation," said rheumatologist Dr Irwin Lim, who is part of the panel of experts taking part in Healthshare.

'This new, online resource will assist those living with rheumatoid arthritis to improve their knowledge, regardless of their location, so they can make the best possible use of the time they have with their specialist. There are a number of treatment options available to those living with this condition; however an open dialogue between a specialist and their patient is important for the treatment and management of their arthritis."

It is free to ask a question and receive an answer from a registered healthcare professional through Healthshare on the Rheumatoid Arthritis Topic Page. For more information or to view the site log on to: www.healthshare.com.au/community/health_challenges/rheumatoid-arthritis

Interview with Dr Irwin Lim

Question: Can you tell us the main motivation of Healthshare's Rheumatoid Arthritis Topic Page?

Dr Irwin Lim: I often turn to the internet to search for information about a health issue. I'm sure you're the same. The internet is a fantastic resource but it's a 2-edged sword given the amount of misinformation that abounds. It's therefore important that good quality, credible resources can actually be found and that these rank highly enough to be visible on simple searches. I would hope that Healthshare's Rheumatoid Arthritis topic page will be one of these resources.


Question: Who is the Healthshare's Rheumatoid Arthritis Topic Page for?

Dr Irwin Lim: Primarily, people who are looking for answers. These might be patients who have been just given the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis wanting to learn more about their disease. These might be people who are trying to work out the cause of their joint pain or other musculoskeletal symptoms, or patients with longer-standing rheumatoid arthritis interested in being part of an online community to learn and share their experiences and knowledge.

It's also important that qualified, health professionals, and especially rheumatologists who are the chief specialists for this disease, to be involved to help answer questions and to promote discussion.


Question: Why was it important for you to be involved in Healthshare's Rheumatoid Arthritis Topic Page?

Dr Irwin Lim: I have been actively using social media through my blog and through twitter to promote awareness of arthritis and to correct some of the misinformation I find on the web. When I was invited to look at Healthshare, I thought it crucial that a rheumatologist be involved to help answer questions that are asked by patients, and to provide a balanced view.

Physicians, as a group, are wary of social media. This needs to change as their knowledge and involvement I'm sure would be very welcomed.

I don't think it's realistic to expect rheumatologists to en masse embrace social media. However, Healthshare provides a simple portal, with low cost-of-entry in terms of time and commitment, for the rheumatologist to dip their toe in. I'm glad to see that a few of my rheumatology colleagues have now joined Healthshare to help answer questions on the Rheumatoid Arthritis topic page.


Question: What do you hope to achieve with Healthshare's Rheumatoid Arthritis Topic Page?

Dr Irwin Lim: I would hope it helps highlight this very important disease. Arthritis is not a sexy topic, and unfortunately this means that it has very low profile despite being a major chronic disease in our community.

Rheumaoid Arthritis is common, affecting >400,000 Australians. It affects the young as well, and those in the prime of their working careers. It's also become very clear that the earlier the disease is diagnosed and treated effectively, the better patients do in the long term, avoiding the disability and joint deformity that occurs with poorly treated disease.

To achieve this goal of earlier diagnosis and treatment, awareness needs to greatly improve. A resource such as Healthshare's Rheumatoid Arthritis Topic page can only help.


Question: What are the advantages associated with rheumatoid arthritis patients openly discussing their health with their doctor to improve their quality of life?

Dr Irwin Lim: As a rheumatologist, I want to know what is happening with my patient's health, both good and bad. It allows me to discuss options to help, or to look for help from other sources if it's beyond my expertise.

Question: Could you explain how rheumatoid arthritis patients are controlled by their condition; what impact does the disease have on their daily lives?

Dr Irwin Lim: Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease of the immune system that primarily causes inflammation of joints, and this is felt as pain, stiffness and swelling. This can affect the hands, feet, knees and in fact, most joints in the body. Eventually, this affects how well people cope with their normal activities of life. Untreated, up to 50% will not be able to work full time within 10 years of the disease. Untreated, it leads to damaged joint and then joint deformity.

Rheumatoid arthritis is not limited to the joints. It causes more systemic effects such as fatigue, or involves organs such as the lung or heart; it increases the risk of heart disease, and increases the risk of death.

All that sounds terrible and unfortunately, rheumatoid arthritis is a BAD disease. The good news is that Australians with rheumatoid arthritis should have much, much better outcomes nowadays. Treatments are very much improved, and rheumatologists have developed much better management strategies to control the disease.


Question: Can you talk us through the main treatment challenges rheumatoid arthritis patients have?

Dr Irwin Lim: Given that the medications to control this disease have improved greatly and rheumatologists have become much better in managing this disease, the major challenges now turn to:
a) improving general awareness of the disease and the improvements in treatment and outcome among the community and among health professionals. In Australia, the way patients get to a rheumatologist is through referral by a general practitioner. It's therefore important for us to make GPs aware of the developments in rheumatoid arthritis.
b) it is very clear that the quicker a patient's rheumatoid arthritis disease is effectively controlled, the better the long term outcomes. Time for patient to attend GP, time from GP to referral to rheumatologist, waiting times for appointments, all remain barriers to prompt treatment.


Question: Are there ways we can prevent rheumatoid arthritis?

Dr Irwin Lim: We don't yet know enough about the cause of the disease to work out how to effectively prevent it. However, smoking is known to lead to an increased risk of having rheumatoid arthritis, and smokers also do less well with more severe disease and poorer response to treatment. Avoid smoking!


Question: What inspired you to become a rheumatologist?

Dr Irwin Lim: In my 4th year post-medical school, I was assigned a term with the rheumatology team. My mentors were decent, caring individuals. I found that I enjoyed the wide variety of work and importantly, the long-term relationships rheumatologists have with their patients. Rheumatology has also entered a golden age, with therapeutic and diagnostic advances, a surge of research, and improved ability to help our patients. Nice patients; interesting, diverse work; a decent lifestyle choice. It's been a very good decision for me.

Interview by Brooke Hunter