Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta

Helping people and families live with MS

What is Multiple Sclerosis?

Multiple Sclerosis is an incurable disease of the nervous system in which the body mistakenly attacks and damages the cells that produce the myelin sheath that encases a nerve fiber. MS can attack any area of the brain, optic nerve or spinal cord causing nerves to lose their ability to transmit signals

• Estimates are that 450,000 people in the United States have MS. The risk of MS is approximately 1 in 800.

• There are approximately 14,000 Georgians that are afflicted with MS. More than 6,000 live outside the Atlanta MSA

• MS affects women more frequently than men by a ratio of about 2:1

• In 2002 it was determined that a person with MS can expect to live seven years less than the average life expectancy

• The manifestations of MS can vary in scope and intensity. Persons afflicted with MS may exhibit physical and cognitive stability for years or they may have an immediate, rapid degradation of mobility and cognitive functions

The Beginnings of MS

• First record of a person with symptoms typical of MS – 14th century in Holland

• MS was initially described as a disease in 1868 by Jean Martin Charcot who connected the symptoms with the “plaques in the brain.”

Jean Martin Charcot

Timeline of MS treatments

• Treatments in the 1800’s• Strychnine• Gold and Silver injections

• 1993 - First FDA approved therapy for MS: Interferon Beta

• 2010 – First oral therapy for MS – Fingolimod

• 2013 – 8 approved therapies for MS, and 2 therapies currently submitted to the FDA for approval

The Multiple Sclerosis Center of AtlantaFounded in 2001, The Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta was established as a 501(c)(3) outpatient center devoted to providing healthcare to the medically-underserved population afflicted with Multiple Sclerosis.

MS Center Programs Include:

Neurological Care

Diagnostic Studies

Successful MS Treatment Protocols

Social Services

General Medical Care

The Center’s Mission Statement:

“The MS Center exists to improve the health and hope of MS patients through advocacy, education, state of the art treatment and research leading to a more promising future.”

Georgians from 118 of our state’s 159 counties receive

life-changing outpatient

treatment at the MS Center of Atlanta.

The Barriers Faced by Rural Residents with MS

• Those in rural areas tend to be diagnosed 1.5 years later than urban residents. Lack of early treatment can lead to a more rapid and greater degree of disability.

• Residents of more remote rural areas are more likely to have a primary care physician providing the majority of their MS focused care.

• Living in a rural area reduces the likelihood of having a neurologist as the MS care provider by 46%.

• An urban resident on average will drive 26 miles to receive MS-focused care, while a rural resident has to travel an average of 103 miles.

Challenges In Extending MS Care Outside Metro Atlanta…

Original MSCA Plan for Expanding MS Care :• Develop brick and mortar sites that would be staffed by local neurologists

and primary care physicians

Current Satellite Location:

• Weekly Office and Infusion presence in Villa Rica on the Tanner Medical Campus

• Costly, ongoing operational expenses that would limit the number of satellite facilities

• Because of extensive federal regulations, rigid professional services agreements are necessary between the local physician and the MS Center. These PSA’s limit availability of local physicians and restrict changes that reflect patient volume.

• Limited number of neurologists that have available time for lengthy and reoccurring MS office visits

• Patient apprehension to a new physician for their long-term care

Hurdles to expansion of long-term care at satellite location

Solutions for MS Care Through Georgia Telehealth…..

For the MS Patient:• Local physician versus a physician office that is an extended

distance away • More available locations for ongoing MS care• Continued long term-care with the neurologist that developed their

MS treatment program• Real time evaluation by a MS specialist when disease relapses or

flare-ups occur.• Elimination of travel expense and time as a barrier to ongoing care

For the Rural Physician:• Greater flexibility in the use of staff and resources for

administering long-term MS care• Limited investment and reoccurring costs in the treatment

of patients with MS• MS specialist available to assist in the comprehensive

treatment of the MS patient

For the MS Center:• Greater flexibility in the use of staff and resources

for administering long-term MS care• Limited investment and reoccurring costs in the

treatment of patients with MS• A solution that aligns with the MS Center’s mission

to extend long-term, ongoing care to a medically under-served population.

We view MS care delivered via Georgia Telehealth

there is a direction we are attempting to go…….

we expect obstacles that we must steer around……..

like navigating a whitewater river……..

…………and anticipate rapid changes as we continue to move forward

Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta

For additional information contact:R. Terry Smith

CEOMultiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta

3200 Downwood CircleSuite 550

Atlanta, GA 30327404-856-4801

tsmith@mscatl.org