Patient outreach and identification is a key activity for the WFH. While there are thousands of people around the world who have been diagnosed with a bleeding disorder, there are thousands more who have a bleeding disorder, but aren’t aware of the nature of condition, and are suffering needlessly.
In Indonesia, an organized system of outreach and identification is helping to make a difference in people’s lives. The results have been encouraging: Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital has seen an increase in bleeding disorder cases—believed to be driven by an increase in awareness.
“There is an increase in the number of patients due to the increase of awareness. Now, [patients] are aware that we can make their life better,” says Aryadi Kurniawan, MD, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital.
Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital has been successful thanks not to a single outreach and identification tactic, but rather, an integrated campaign that works at several levels. Medical professionals start with current hemophilia patients and contact their families to see if other members might have bleeding disorder symptoms. If they do, those people are invited to take tests to conclusively determine if they have a condition or not.