With new patient resource to close conversation gaps in rheumatic disease, AbbVie makes 'Rheum for Dialogue'

Many patients with rheumatic diseases refrain from telling their doctors about all physical and emotional symptoms they’re experiencing, potentially leading to less effective care.

That’s according to a recent survey commissioned by AbbVie and comprising more than 400 U.S. adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). Based on those results, the Big Pharma has launched a new online hub full of resources it’s hoping will close that “conversation gap” between rheumatic disease patients and their care teams.

The “Rheum for Dialogue” site features a video about the importance of creating open and honest conversations with one’s doctor featuring a conversation between an RA patient and a rheumatologist, both founders of rheumatic disease patient support organizations.

The hub also includes links to other AbbVie-sponsored sites about RA, PsA and axSpA, which patients can use to gather information about their condition and therefore feel more informed in their conversations with doctors.

Additionally, the Rheum for Dialogue site will soon be adding an online tool created by the Global Healthy Living Foundation and sponsored by AbbVie that will first help patients pinpoint how they’re feeling, then provide personalized tips for communicating those needs to their care teams.

In the survey of rheumatic disease patients, AbbVie found that just over half of patients report feeling at least one negative emotion—including, most commonly, feeling anxious or overwhelmed—after leaving appointments with their rheumatologists.

Nearly 30% of those surveyed said they don’t tell their doctors everything they’re feeling because they don’t want to be perceived as complaining. Around a third of patients said they’re afraid of being judged by their rheumatologists, while about the same number said they hold back due to cultural differences that make open conversations about their conditions difficult.

Those obstacles to open dialogue persist in how patients talk about their treatment progress, too. About 1 in 3 of those surveyed said they struggle to describe to their doctors the challenges they’re experiencing with their treatments The survey also found that 70% of patients are relying on their rheumatologists to bring up new treatments, and close to 40% said they wait for their doctors to tell them that a treatment has stopped working.

AbbVie, of course, has a vested interest in improving conversations about rheumatic disease treatments. Its three biggest-selling drugs—Humira, Skyrizi and Rinvoq—are all cleared to treat various rheumatic diseases, including RA, PsA and axSpA; together, they brought in more than $7 billion in the third quarter of this year, making up almost half of AbbVie’s total global net revenues.