1. How much time do you think is spend between the symptoms presented by the patient and the diagnosis of an ILD? |
2. How much time do you think is spend between the symptoms presented by the patient and the diagnosis of a specific etiology of an ILD? |
3. What diagnostic tests do you consider essential for a proper diagnostic process? |
4. What is the availability of these diagnostic tests in your center? |
5. Do you believe that there are differences in the availability of the tests named in other centers or levels of health care? |
6. Do you consider the existence of a multidisciplinary discussion important for the evaluation of these cases? |
7. Do you have a pathologist and a radiologist with experience in pulmonary diseases to conduct a multidisciplinary discussion of cases? |
8. How relevant do you think the participation of other specialties, such as rheumatologist or transplant lung specialists, could be? |
9. Considering the above, which aspects do you think have the greatest influence on the delay in the characterization of the disease? |
10. What do you think could be encouraged in order to minimize the barriers identified? |
Question guide - Group 2 (Barriers to treatment): |
1. How much time do you think is spent between the symptoms presented by the patient and the starting of treatments aimed to an ILD? |
2. In your center do you have access to the treatments you believe are necessary for different kinds of ILD? |
3. Do you think that in different centers, than the ones where you work in, there are the same facilities to establish an adequate treatment? |
4. Do you believe that doctors working as internists could have the knowledge to define a treatment, if they had all the diagnostic methods available? |
5. Do you believe that to start immunosuppressive treatment for an ILD associated with autoimmune disorders requires prior assessment by a rheumatologist expert in ILD? |
6. Considering the preceding, which aspects do you think have the greatest influence on the delay in the initiation of a therapy for the disease? |
7. What actions would you consider should be taken to improve knowledge about the management of these diseases? |
Question guide - Group 3 (Patient perceptions about access barriers): |
1. What are your patients’ complaints regarding the barriers they have in the course of their illness? |
2. Concerning diagnosis, did patients refer barriers that have delayed the identification of an ILD? |
3. Concerning treatment, did patients report barriers that have delayed the starting of therapies directed at an ILD? |
4. Do patients identify barriers in monitoring? |
5. Have you perceived if there are differences in the barriers shown by patients living in cities regarding patients coming from the suburbs? |
6. Do you believe that patients’ perception of barriers to access influences their motivation to learn about the disease and treatment adherence? |
7. Considering the above, what do you think could be an objective to improve so that patients present fewer barriers and improve the impression about care in health services? |