Knowledge = Empowerment
PATIENT-LED, ONLINE CLASSES (Webinars)
One hour, online, patient-led* classes to help you better understand important issues that impact access to therapies.
The teacher has an AiArthritis disease
Led by AiArthritis CEO, who is also an award-winning college teacher (voted "Favorite Teacher" 2006, 2008)
Discussion Leaders are affected by AiArthritis diseases
Also on camera will be several people living with our diseases to help lead discussions to increase learning
Guest Speaker
Isn't class more fun when there is a guest speaker? For each topic, we found experts to join the conversation and share resources
Class Discussions
(OPTIONAL) Use the chat feature to join those on screen. Share your stories, questions, and opinions
Value Assessments
October 27th, 1pm - 2pm ET/USA
A value assessment is an evaluation process that attempts to assign value to a healthcare treatment or service by comparing it to an existing treatment for the same condition. It is also known as a health technology assessment or HTA. A value assessment is done to understand if the perceived benefit is enough to justify the cost. Value assessments are used by the people who determine which treatments or medications are put on the insurance company's formulary, or preferred list.
CLASS SPEAKER: Catherine Koola Fischer, ICER (Institute for Clinical and Economic Review)
Join this webinar to learn more about how value assessments work, how patient voices are needed to be heard so 'subgroup' needs emerge and are considered in the recommendations, and how YOU can be part of it all!
Precision Medicine
September 15th at 1pm -2pm ET/USA
Patient-led, classroom style webinar led by your Instructor - Tiffany Westrich-Robertson, AiArthritis CEO, person living with non-radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis AND a real former college teacher! Also join three other people living with AiArthritis diseases - Deb, Michael, and Lisa, your Discussion Leaders ... and special a special Class Speaker from the leading access to biomarkers testing coalition in the USA - American Cancer Society -Cancer Action Network (ACS-CAN).
Learn more about what Precision Medicine is, how access to it can improve your health journey, and what you can do to help legislators understand its' importance!
This "class" is guaranteed to be like no 'webinar' you've ever attended. Join us to learn and improve YOUR healthcare journey today!
Step Therapy
Friday, September 29th at 1pm - 2pm ET/USA
Step therapy, also known as 'fail first', is a practice used by health plans to control costs. Step therapy prevents patients from accessing a treatment prescribed by their physician by requiring them to try one or more alternative treatments first. Once those treatments have been proven ineffective or harmful to the patient, then they can step up to the treatment originally prescribed by the physician.
Join this webinar to learn more about Step Therapy, ask questions, talk to other patients, and find out what you can do to fight this often unfair protocol. Our Class Speaker is from the National Psoriasis Foundation, one of the leaders in the Safe Step Coalition (primary coalition of patient groups fighting these practices in the United States).
Accumulator
October 13th at 1pm -2pm ET/USA
A US health policy issue where insurance plans exclude support from patient assistance programs counting towards their deductible and maximum out-of-pocket costs. As a result, the assistance - that runs out half year when the insurance would definitely have kicked in - was never applied. Therefore, there is no longer assistance to pay for the medications the second half of the year.
Join this webinar to learn more about this issue, how to identify if this is happening to you, and what you can do to help us fight against these practices. Also, learn from our Class Speaker, Corey Greenblatt from Global Healthy Living Foundation/CreakyJoints - who created an AWESOME accumulator program on their website that can help you better understand this issue. See the tool here.
