Zahra Pakbaz, MD, Describes the Value of a Dedicated Classical Hematology Clinic

Dr. Pakbaz from the University of California, Irvine (UCI), met with Heme Today to discuss challenges faced by adult patients with noncancer blood disorders due to the current lack of dedicated specialists.

“There’s more resources provided to focus on cancer, and these chronic diseases that people grow up with are forgotten,” Dr. Pakbaz said. “We forget how much a chronic disease can affect quality of life.”

Dr. Pakbaz also discussed data that she presented at the 65th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition on the value of her classical hematology clinic.

What Is the Value of a Dedicated Classical Hematologist?

To define the value of a dedicated classical hematologist, Dr. Pakbaz performed an analysis of her clinic at the UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center where she sees patients with noncancer blood disorders full time.

“We showed that within two years I saw about 700 patients,” she said, adding that patients were referred from colleagues in hematology oncology, family medicine, and other subspecialties.

In addition to the high number of patients, Dr. Pakbaz noted that the clinic, located in Southern California, saw patients from as far north as San Francisco, nearly 400 miles away. She added that some patients who moved out of range preferred to remain with the clinic via video visits, as they were not satisfied with local providers.