Psoriatic Arthritis
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How to Find a Psoriatic Arthritis Doctor That’s Right for You

There are very good treatments for this autoimmune disorder, but to get the best care, you need a well-trained doctor you can talk to honestly.
How to Find a Psoriatic Arthritis Doctor That’s Right for You
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Updated on February 12, 2024
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Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) affects nearly 30 percent of people living with psoriasis, a chronic condition that causes inflammation in the body.

 While there’s no cure, there are safe and effective treatments to help reduce the pain, inflammation, and joint damage of PsA and improve your overall health — but only if you get proper medical care.

As with any rheumatic condition, the earlier a patient with PsA gets an accurate diagnosis and begins treatment, the better. “Psoriatic arthritis can cause damage to joints through erosions of the bone. There are a number of other issues that can arise, such as an eye condition called uveitis, sausage-like swelling of the fingers or toes, and a lot of significant deformities that impair quality of life. These won’t happen in every case, but it’s important to treat early to try to prevent that in cases where it may happen,” says Jason Liebowitz, MD, a rheumatologist and assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in New York.

If you have PsA, it’s important to find a doctor who can help you get the best treatment.

Start With a Psoriatic Arthritis Specialist

Managing the complex symptoms of PsA requires a multidisciplinary approach to treatment, beginning with a rheumatologist, a specialist who treats arthritis and related diseases. While rheumatologists treat a variety of rheumatic diseases, you may want to seek out someone who specifically focuses on spondyloarthropathies. These are types of arthritis that include ankylosing spondylitis, inflammatory bowel disease-associated arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis.

When deciding on a rheumatologist, you’ll want to find out who is in your health insurance network and is also taking new patients. Other factors to consider: Is the office reasonably convenient for you? Does the doctor offer telemedicine appointments?

Learn what you can about their experience and approach. Does the physician conduct clinical research? How aggressive or conservative are they in their treatment plans and does that match with your treatment goals?

What to Tell Your Doctor

Have a consultation with a potential rheumatologist before making a commitment. You want to be sure that the doctor is easy to communicate with and has a good bedside manner. Consider bringing a list of questions and notes to your appointment, including:

  • Symptoms you’re currently experiencing
  • Therapies you've tried in the past
  • Therapies you’re using now
  • Therapies you'd like to try
  • How psoriatic arthritis is affecting your work and home life
  • Areas in which you need help, such as exercise or diet
  • Your goals for treatment

RELATED: 7 Psoriatic Arthritis Symptoms You Shouldn’t Ignore

Questions to Ask Yourself After the Appointment

It’s worth reviewing your experience after an initial appointment or consultation. How comfortable did you feel with this doctor? Was there anything in particular that bothered you?

Did you feel listened to? Dr. Liebowitz says it’s important that doctors “express empathy and understanding by letting the patient know that they’re hearing them and not just dismissing their concerns.”

Do you understand what the doctor is recommending for your psoriatic arthritis, and do those recommendations seem reasonable to you?

How did you feel about the office staff? How welcoming or helpful were they?

And what are your next steps? You’ll need to determine whether you want to try a treatment plan recommended by this doctor and make a follow-up appointment — or look for a different doctor.

What if You’re Not Satisfied With Your Results?

A patient’s dissatisfaction with their doctor can have consequences for their health. A Scandinavian survey found that PsA patients are often dissatisfied with their treatment.

 And a study of patients in Latin America found that patients who were misaligned with their doctors in terms of treatment satisfaction reported higher disease activity, lower quality of life, and greater disability than those who were aligned with their physicians.

If you’re not seeing results after a few months, Liebowitz notes that you and your doctor can take some further steps. “It is important for the rheumatologist to keep reevaluating the situation if it’s not going as planned,” he says. “Unfortunately, we’re still in the era of trial and error, where we don’t know which medicines will definitely help which patient. It’s usually not incompetence, but just the matter of finding the right medicine. And that may take a little bit of time and patience. You don’t necessarily need to find a new doctor, but you just need to be on the same page with where to go next.”

RELATED: How to Prepare for Your Next Rheumatology Appointment for PsA

Communication Is Key to Healthy Outcomes

It’s important for patients to share their concerns and for doctors to ask patients what they hope to get out of treatment for their disease. It’s also important for doctors to communicate whether those expectations are realistic and what can actually be achieved.

“Patients need to be their own advocates and be clear about what their goals are. Doctors and patients need to keep asking questions of each other. We are learning more every day, so it’s always good to reevaluate and see if there are other things to think about from a different perspective,” says Liebowitz.

Other Specialists You May Need

Along with a rheumatologist, you may need to consult with other specialists to address psoriatic arthritis symptoms and concerns.

Your healthcare team may include:

  • A dermatologist to address skin and nail issues
  • A dietitian to teach you about anti-inflammatory foods and weight management
  • An occupational therapist to teach you hand stretches and exercises and ways to make daily activities easier
  • A pharmacist to monitor your medications and answer any questions you may have
  • A physical therapist to teach you joint exercises to help ease pain and stiffness

Your primary care physician will play a key role in managing your medical team and helping you stay well in the midst of treatment.

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Alexa Meara, MD

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Alexa Meara, MD, is an assistant professor of immunology and rheumatology at The Ohio State University. She maintains a multidisciplinary vasculitis clinic and supervises a longitudinal registry of lupus nephritis and vasculitis patients. Her clinical research is in improving patient–physician communication. She is involved in the medical school and the Lead-Serve-Inspire (LSI) curriculum and serves on the medical school admissions committee; she also teaches multiple aspects of the Part One curriculum. Her interests in medical-education research include remediation and work with struggling learners.

Dr. Meara received her medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, DC.  She completed her internal medicine training at East Carolina University (ECU) at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, North Carolina, then spent two more years at ECU, first as chief resident in internal medicine, then as the associate training program director for internal medicine. She pursued further training in rheumatology at The Ohio State University in Columbus, completing a four-year clinical and research fellowship there in 2015. 

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Bruce resides with her husband, Rudy, in South Tampa and was awarded Alumnus of the Year at the University of South Florida for medical writing contributions. Some popular health trade books are Bipolar II with Ronald R. Fieve, MD; The NEW Arthritis Diet and Strong Women Live Longer with Harris H. McIlwain, MD; and The Sleep Doctor's Diet Plan with Michael Breus, PhD.

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Resources
  1. About Psoriatic Arthritis. National Psoriasis Foundation.
  2. Psoriatic Arthritis and the Spondyloarthropathies Program. Penn Medicine.
  3. Tveit, KS et al. Treatment Use and Satisfaction Among Patients With Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis: Results From the Nordic Patient Survey of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (NORPAPP). Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. February 2019.
  4. Pereira, A et al. Levels of Satisfaction With Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment and Associated Alignment Between Physicians and Patients Across Latin America. Clinical Rheumatology. June 2020.