Multidisciplinary ILD Care Enables Earlier Diagnosis: Steven D. Nathan, MD

Captions are auto-generated.

Multidisciplinary approaches to interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are crucial for catching symptoms and diagnosing patients early. At the Washington, DC, Pop Health Round Table discussion, hosted by The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®), a curated cohort of clinicians unanimously agreed on the impact multidisciplinary care has on patients, especially those with potential undiagnosed ILD. The discussion focused on ILD and was 1 of 4 at the AJMC Pop Health Roundtable on June 21, 2026, moderated by Staven D. Nathan, MD, Schar Chair, advanced lung disease and lung transplant, and medical director of the advanced lung disease and lung transplant program, Inova Schar Heart and Vascular.

In an interview with AJMC, Nathan echoed his early sentiments on multidisciplinary care, sentiments shared by the group of physicians present at the discussion.

“Working closely with the local rheumatologist is very important. In our own center, we have a combined clinic where patients can see rheumatology as well as pulmonary,” he said. “I think the rheumatologists are in a unique position because they're seeing a patient population that is at high risk of developing ILD, scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, mixed connective tissue disease, Sjogren's.”

People at high risk of developing these diseases are most likely to meet with a rheumatologist first, as many of the associated symptoms overlap with the underlying connective tissue disease, Nathan said.

“It is a unique opportunity because rheumatologists are following these patients for their joints or other issues, so they should be tracking their lung function at the same time to enable the early determination if they're developing interstitial lung disease,” he said.

Many of the panelists, including Nathan, emphasized the importance of multidisciplinary care, as it can lead to early diagnoses and more timely treatment.

“That is a unique population where patients are in the medical system already, and we should be able to pick up ILD earlier than patients who present de novo without a known cause,” Nathan said.