Thyroid Disease Epidemic
· news
The Hidden Epidemic of Under-Treated Thyroids
Thyroid disease affects an estimated 20 million Americans, with one in eight women developing a condition that can leave them feeling drained and unwell. Despite its prevalence, thyroid care remains woefully inadequate, with many women being offered a narrow, outdated approach to treatment.
McCall McPherson’s experience is all too familiar. As a young physician assistant, she was prescribed levothyroxine, a synthetic version of the T4 hormone that doesn’t work for everyone. Her doctor dismissed her symptoms and suggested she eat less and exercise more, but McPherson knew something was wrong.
Her own experience with thyroid disease sparked a new passion – helping others avoid the same fate. After months on a waitlist to see a progressive physician who ran comprehensive labs and prescribed active thyroid hormone, McPherson finally found relief.
This experience motivated her to challenge the status quo of thyroid care. In 2018, she founded Modern Thyroid Clinic, which has grown into a telehealth powerhouse with over 40 employees operating in 48 states and generating lower-mid eight-figure revenue.
However, this success story is not just about business – it’s about transforming the way doctors approach thyroid treatment. The conventional method focuses on a single lab value (TSH) and a one-size-fits-all medication regimen, ignoring the complexities of thyroid function in women. McPherson estimates that this narrow approach catches only 4% of the true picture, leaving up to 80-90% of patients misdiagnosed or undertreated.
Modern Thyroid Clinic takes a radical approach: comprehensive lab panels, active thyroid hormone prescriptions, and treating autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto’s as manageable rather than merely monitored. What sets this clinic apart is its staff – all women who have experienced thyroid conditions themselves. McPherson believes that patients need practitioners who understand their struggles and have been dismissed by the medical establishment.
This approach isn’t just about patient comfort; it’s about trust. When women feel heard and believed, they’re more likely to adhere to treatment plans. By hiring staff who share their experiences, McPherson is building a culture of empathy within her clinic – one that’s revolutionizing thyroid care.
McCall McPherson’s ambition goes beyond her own clinic’s success. She hopes to make her practice unnecessary by changing the standard of care for thyroid disease. This requires confronting the medical establishment head-on and pushing for more comprehensive treatment options.
As she prepares to release her book, Take Back Your Thyroid, in February 2027, McPherson is sending a powerful message: women deserve better than under-treated thyroids. They deserve practitioners who understand their struggles, who will listen to them, and who will fight for their care.
The thyroid epidemic won’t be solved overnight, but with pioneers like McCall McPherson at the helm, there’s hope that this hidden crisis can finally get the attention it deserves.
Reader Views
- CMColumnist M. Reid · opinion columnist
The article highlights the stark reality of inadequate thyroid care in this country, but it's high time we shift our attention from just expanding access to comprehensive treatment. We need to acknowledge that one-size-fits-all approaches aren't just outdated, they're also inherently discriminatory – perpetuating a cycle where marginalized women are disproportionately misdiagnosed or undertreated due to systemic biases and lack of diverse representation in healthcare. Modernizing thyroid care demands more than just adding labs or medications; it requires dismantling the power structures that have allowed this epidemic to persist for far too long.
- ADAnalyst D. Park · policy analyst
The thyroid care conundrum is far from resolved. While McPherson's success story highlights the need for more comprehensive treatment approaches, one can't help but wonder about the accessibility of such services to underserved populations. The article glosses over the issue of insurance coverage and reimbursement rates for telehealth services, which may be a major barrier for many patients seeking modern thyroid care. A nuanced discussion on the intersection of policy and healthcare innovation would further illuminate this pressing issue.
- RJReporter J. Avery · staff reporter
While Modern Thyroid Clinic's approach is a breath of fresh air in the thyroid treatment landscape, I worry that its success story may gloss over the systemic issues driving this epidemic. We can't simply attribute the problem to outdated medical practices; rather, it stems from the lack of comprehensive training for doctors and inadequate funding for thyroid research. McPherson's efforts are commendable, but without a more concerted effort to address these underlying problems, patients will continue to fall through the cracks, misdiagnosed or undertreated in a system that perpetuates disease instead of healing.