MS MasterClass graduate has course-based research published by ABN

We are delighted to announce that Dr Bindu Yoga, an MS MasterClass graduate, has recently had a poster selected by the Association of British Neurologists (ABN) for her work on timely access to disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) in multiple sclerosis (MS).

Current guidelines say treatment should start ‘as soon as possible’ after a decision is made, without giving a measurable time frame. Dr Yoga and colleagues carried out research locally to find out how much time passed between the decision to treat a patient with disease-modifying drugs, and the start of the actual treatment.

Dr Yoga found that there was a lack of records held on the dates that orders were placed and delivered, and that, understandably, patients often wanted time to make an informed decision around the type of DMT they would take, which also delayed treatment.

The team calls to create a ‘robust database’ locally to track the timeframes for their patients. They highlight the delay in patients under non-treatment centres accessing treatment in the regional MS centres once they are eligible, and call for a national response to this. They suggest that carrying out a national audit could ultimately drive the MS centres to standardise treatment pathways.

This work was done as part of the MS MasterClass intermodule project, a key part of the course often giving real insight into clinical practice and a starting point for improving patient outcomes.

You can read the summary of Dr Yoga’s work on the MS Academy site, or view her poster below to find out more. A full article will appear in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry (JNNP) shortly.