May 22, 2020
Today’s episode is an interview with Patty Weltin, Founder and CEO of Beyond the Diagnosis. I invited Patty on the podcast because she is an advocate for individuals and families living with rare diseases, and she has a unique way of using art to educate others about rare diseases - also known as orphan diseases.
Links and info mentioned in this episode
Patty Weltin Bio
Patty Weltin is the CEO and Founder of the Beyond the Diagnosis. She is the mother of two children with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a rare disease. Patty began working in this space by creating a new business model of working by state. She is from Rhode Island. Her award winning work in state-level advocacy grew to national advocacy efforts. Today, Patty proudly works to successfully use art as a powerful tool to create awareness and innovation into orphan and neglected diseases.
Beyond the Diagnosis background info
Beyond the Diagnosis unites art and science. It began working on a project to increase research and raise awareness of rare diseases within the medical community through art.
Professional artists paint portraits of children living with a rare disease. The portraits then become part of a traveling exhibit for medical schools, research institutes and hospitals. This exhibit has also touched the hearts and minds of the general public. Since the debut, Beyond the Diagnosis has visited the NIH, Broad Institute, Hofstra Medical, Harvard Medical, the FDA and many more.
According to beyondthediagnosis.org, there are 7,000 rare diseases. Rare diseases became known as orphan diseases because drug companies were not interested in adopting them to develop treatments. (Source: beyondthediagnosis.org and https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/pages/31/faqs-about-rare-diseases). Less than 5% of all orphan diseases have a treatment. (Source: beyongthediagnosis.org) There are no cures. People living with orphan diseases experience long diagnosis times, few medical experts, no treatments, financial hardship, and emotional stress.
The Beyond the Diagnosis art exhibit’s focus is the orphan disease patient. Artists have donated their time and talents to paint orphan disease patients for this groundbreaking exhibit. Each portrait represents a single orphan disease. The goal of Beyond the Diagnosis is to put a face to all 7,000 orphan diseases. This beautiful exhibit is traveling to medical schools, research institutes and hospitals around the globe encouraging the medical community to look “beyond the diagnosis” to the patient.
Art has been used for thousands of years to successfully convey a message, whether it be a story or a glimpse into the human spirit. Art not only leaves a powerful and lasting visual imprint but it also creates a unique connection for the viewer.
About the art and the artists for Beyond the Diagnosis
Other highlights from the interview
About the logo for Beyond the Diagnosis
In medical schools, med students are taught, “When you hear hoof beats, think ‘horses,’ not zebras.” Rare diseases are like zebras. Educating med students and healthcare professionals about rare diseases early in their careers improves awareness about rare diseases and ultimately benefits individuals with rare diseases.