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.