Mary Rensel, MD: Transitioning to Shared Medical Appointments

“Humans change more readily if it’s easy. If it’s a very big jump, it’s harder for us to do it.”

Adjusting to any new treatment method, especially a non-standardized one, can be a major change for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). For example, easing patients into the process of using shared medical appointments is something that takes time but can eventually become habitual.

At the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) forum, February 27-29, 2020, Mary Rensel, MD, director, Pediatric MS and Wellness progamming, Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis Treatment and Research, Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues presented data on shared medical appointments and the benefits they bring as an alternative solution for MS treatment.

Rensel, who is also an assistant professor of neurology at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, sat down with NeurologyLive to discuss the roadblocks physicians face when trying to transition patients to a shared medical appointment. She covers the stubbornness of patient’s inability to change, as well as new initiatives being undertaken at Cleveland Clinic to smooth the transition process.