Noting that rheumatic diseases can not only cause pain and disability but shorten the lifespan of both men and women, renowned rheumatologists from all over India have expressed their concern about the lack of specialists treating rheumatic diseases that affect one-fourth of Indians. The experts gathered at the inauguration of the Rheumatology Week, a virtual week-long initiative by the Indian Rheumatology Association (IRA) in association with the Integrated Health and Wellbeing (IHW) Council, focuses on making people aware of three major rheumatologic diseases i.e., Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis & Systemic Lupus Erythematous (SLE), available in 7 regional languages – Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Gujarati, Bangla, and Odia to begin with.
Dr. Prof. Alakendu Ghosh, President of Indian Rheumatology Association and Head of Department, Rheumatology, IPGMER, SSKM Hospital, Kolkata, Dr. Prof. Debashish Danda, Founder of Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology, CMC, Vellore, and President-Elect of the Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology, Dr. K M Mahendranath, Senior Consultant Rheumatologist, Samarpan Arthritis and Rheumatology, Mr. Kamal Narayan, CEO, Integrated Health and Wellbeing Council and others spoke on the occasion. They urged to cover the rheumatic diseases under the Prime Minister’s Ayushman Bharat scheme so that more people can get treated.
