Raise awareness with your local physicians

Raising awareness among general practitioners and specialty physicians is a critically important way to help myositis patients and individuals who have not yet received an accurate diagnosis.  You can do this by simply calling physicians in your community or a larger geographic area who might not know about myositis to ask if you can send them information about the disease. The sample phone script below does not need to be read word for word but can help as a guide. Familiarize yourself with the language so you can sound natural without reading it directly.

Ring! Ring!
If you connect with the physician’s office, start with:

“Hi! I am calling on behalf of The Myositis Association to let you know that as part of National Myositis Awareness Month I would like to send you a pamphlet about myositis.  If that is okay with you, shall I send it to your office?”

Yes!  If they say, “Yes” to receiving a brochure, ask them for their mailing address to be sure you have the correct information. Thank them for their time and hang up. Be sure to mail the materials promptly following your calls.

No.  If they respond that they do not want to receive a brochure,  thank them for their time and hang up.

No answer.  If your call goes to voicemail, hang up and try calling at another time.

Yes, and…   If they ask you about myositis, share some key facts:

  • Myositis affects approximately 50,000 people in the US.
  • It is a rare chronic disease that weakens muscles.
  • There are 3 forms of the disease:  polymyositis, dermatomyositis, and inclusion body myositis.
  • Inclusion body myositis is the most common muscle disease in people over the age of 50.
  • Myositis affects men, women, and children of all races and ages, including children as young as 3 years old.
  • If they seem interested in hearing more, you can share with them your personal experience with the disease.

More than just general info
This campaign will help spread the word about myositis to physicians who may never have seen a myositis patient or may never have even heard of the disease.  If the physician wants more information than the general myositis brochure, refer them to TMA for additional resources.

TMA has the following resource publications available: