In this MD Newsline exclusive interview with Dr. Alecia Nero, hematologist and associate professor in internal medicine and pediatrics at UT Southwestern Medical Center, we discuss UT Southwestern’s sickle cell disease programs.
Dr. Nero is the Director of UT Southwestern’s Transition Sickle Cell Program and Adult Sickle Cell Program. UT Southwestern is part of the Sickle Cell Disease Clinical Trials Network.
MD Newsline:
Is there anything, in particular, you’d like to comment on about UT Southwestern’s sickle cell disease program that makes it stand out?
Dr. Alecia Nero:
“Some of the things that we do very well at UT Southwestern are patient-centered care and multidisciplinary care. Providing this kind of care is critical because it helps us meet our patients where they’re at. And it can be hard for our patients with sickle cell disease to focus on their health when they have other pressing life circumstances.
We also have very collaborative teams working to deliver this care. Since blood goes everywhere in the body, our patients have disorders of every organ system. Fortunately, we have some of the best experts available who are prepared to care for any kind of sickle cell disease complication that our patients might have.
Hematology, of course, is our core team, with transfusion medicine, hospitalist medicine surgery, obstetrics-gynecology, nephrology colleagues, and other experts working alongside us to meet our patients’ needs. Lastly, this extensive collaborative network is an asset to our sickle cell disease research, ultimately allowing us to provide our patients with better care.”
Responses have been condensed and lightly edited.
