The Critical Nature of Patient-Focused MS Care: Patricia Bobryk, MHS, PT, MSCS, ATP

“If a patient walks away knowing that maybe they don’t have the solution yet for [a given] issue, but it’s being addressed and they’re going to see the appropriate professional that’s going to help them with it, they’re going to walk away fulfilled and [feeling that] their needs have been met.”

For patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), there are several symptoms and consequences of the disease that allow them to benefit from engaging in rehabilitation strategies. Because of this, those patients who have access to larger care teams are often seen by a physical or occupational therapist who specializes in the management of MS.

Patricia Bobryk, MHS, PT, MSCS, ATP, offers this type of care, and spoke with NeurologyLive in an interview about the benefits it can provide. Specifically, Bobryk, who is a physical therapist at UC Health, and the cochair of the International Organization of MS Rehabilitation Therapists (IOMSRT), explained that this type of care is particularly helpful in addressing the patient-focused needs around issues with mobility and speech, for example. She added that the need to provide patients with MS the care that they feel they require is critical to their long-term outcomes.

Bobryk also shared her insight into how this focus on patient-centered care and shared decision-making melds nicely into the ongoing shift to the use of comprehensive multidisciplinary care teams to manage disease. Interplay between the physical therapist, speech pathologist, MS specialist, and other members of the team is critical to ensuring that patients’ needs are met—something that can only be achieved by proper referral and communication.