What Is the Ideal Specialist for Someone With Sickle Cell?
More Programs and Publications Featuring Dr. Seethal Jacob
In this program:
Who should sickle cell patients target for their ideal care provider? Watch as expert Dr. Seethal Jacob explains the types of specialists who can offer optimal care for sickle cell patients and advice for how to expand access to care.
Transcript
Leo Hesse:
So I think I can speak for loads of patients and underserved communities that would not have access to specialists or perhaps even live near academic medical centers to receive some of the best treatment out there in the world. What type of expert or specialist would you advise sickle cell patients to see?
Dr. Seethal Jacob:
That's a great question. I think the ideal would be for them to have a hematologist who sees sickle cell patients, and by seeing sickle cell patients, I mean someone who regularly sees a number of patients with sickle cell disease, and therefore has built an expertise within that disease population. That's the ideal I recognize that there are not enough of those hematologists around the world for patients with sickle disease to be able to see. I think one thing that COVID has really given us as part of some of the work that I do is expanding that access by utilizing telemedicine, for example. And so, as a patient with sickle cell disease, if you don't live near a hematologist who is an expert in sickle cell, then looking for those opportunities, is there perhaps a hematologist who does telemedicine that can help guide your care and support your care that you're receiving...maybe from a general practitioner? I think having the insight of an expert that can collaborate in your medical care is sort of an excellent next option if there's not a hematologist available to you.
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