Hidradenitis Suppurativa Insights: Advancing Early Diagnosis, Guideline-Driven Care, and Multidisciplinary Solutions

Panelist discusses how hidradenitis suppurativa’s early detection is challenging due to misdiagnosis, patient stigma, and limited awareness. Improved physician education, proactive screening, and strategic use of claims data can help identify undiagnosed cases earlier, enabling more timely intervention and management.

Panelist discusses how the misalignment between Hurley stages and patient burden in hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) creates diagnostic and treatment challenges. Current Hurley staging inadequately captures the full patient experience, potentially leading to suboptimal treatment approaches. Standardized clinical training and assessment tools that incorporate both objective staging and subjective patient-reported outcomes could help bridge this gap, enabling more personalized and comprehensive HS management.

Panelist discusses how social determinants of health create significant diagnostic barriers for hidradenitis suppurativa through systemic inequities, limited health care access, and provider knowledge gaps. Health systems can mitigate these challenges through targeted educational, technological, and culturally responsive interventions.

Panelist discusses how delayed medical diagnosis causes significant economic burden through increased treatment costs, prolonged health care interventions, reduced patient productivity, and higher health care system expenses. Economic mitigation strategies include implementing early screening programs, improving diagnostic technologies, enhancing medical training, and developing robust health care infrastructure that prioritizes timely patient assessment and intervention.

Panelist discusses how rapid access clinics could revolutionize HS patient care by providing swift, comprehensive diagnostic pathways, integrating multidisciplinary expertise, and enabling early intervention. Strategies for equitable access include telemedicine, mobile diagnostic units, community health worker training, sliding-scale pricing, and partnerships with local health care providers to overcome geographical and economic barriers in underserved regions.

Panelist discusses how patient advocacy groups act as critical bridges between patients, researchers, and health care providers, ultimately improving recognition, treatment, and quality of life for individuals affected by hidradenitis suppurativa.

Panelist discusses how Centers of Excellence for hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) differentiate through comprehensive, patient-centered multidisciplinary care models integrating specialized dermatologic, surgical, psychological, and pain management interventions to holistically address complex chronic conditions while navigating systemic health care implementation challenges.

Panelist discusses how HS Centers of Excellence demonstrate potential for enhanced health care delivery through coordinated, specialized care approaches, with managed care organizations driving adoption through strategic incentives and collaborative frameworks.