Taking Care of People with Auto-Immune Conditions in Detroit

Auto-immune conditions can be very difficult and expensive to manage. We recently had a patient present with swollen fingers and painful joints going on for 6 weeks. It was disabling for him and he was having a hard time doing the work he needed to do at home and at work. Worst of all, he was having a hard time playing/being active with his grand kids.

We were able to complete a work up of his condition for about $100 in terms of labs, and about $50 in terms of x-rays. He pays our monthly membership and is able to have as many appointments as he needs in our office without co-pays.

After collecting the labs and x-rays, and after thoughtful deliberation, we came up with a diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Rheumatoid Arthritis or RA is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system – which normally protects its health by attacking foreign substances like bacteria and viruses – mistakenly attacks the joints. This causes joint swelling and joint pain, as seen in our patient.

Once we had the right diagnosis, we were then able to start him on Methotrexate, a medication to manage his Rheumatoid Arthritis. The medication costs $4.08/week or about $16.32/month, which is affordable for our patient.

Best of all, the medication works really well for our patient and he can now do the work that he needs to do at work and at home, without the considerable joint pain that he initially experienced. Above all, he has a better quality of life, because he can now play with his grand kids and be the grandpa he wants to be.

I love taking care of people - people of all ages and stages, with diverse backgrounds and conditions. Thanks for reading and have a great day.

- Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC in Detroit Michigan