Patient Engagement in Scientific Communications

Patients and the public are increasingly seeking for their voice to be heard in all aspects of healthcare, including medicines development. In response to this, pharmaceutical companies have started incorporating patient voice in drug development and, by engaging with patients, they benefit from the insights they have into the conditions for which they are trying to develop a product.

Join us for an evening of discussion, networking and drinks.

18.00 Networking and drinks

18.30 Welcome

18.40 Talk 1: Citizen Reporting in Health: A Patient Engagement Format that Breaks Down Barriers Between Health Science and Patients

Dr Emily Thompson will present an overview of “MS Reporters”, a programme of work run by the charity Shift.ms- the social network for people living with multiple sclerosis. The video interview format is a patient-led eHealth solution that breaks down barriers between health science and patients. It is a format of citizen reporting in health in which patients, trained as citizen reporters, interview health experts on questions that matter to the community they represent. The MS Reporters interview researchers, healthcare professionals, lifestyle specialists and other patients who share their lived experiences. The videos are shared online globally with the wider health-condition community, resulting in patient-led global access to clear, trusted and relevant expert knowledge. Shift.ms have demonstrated the patient engagement format delivers health impacts for people living with MS.

Emily is the “MS Reporters” Programme Manager at Shift.ms. She brings over 15 years experience working in the health sector in both medical research and Med Comms. She holds a PhD in neurology from Imperial College London, and has 7 years experience as a medical researcher. Prior to her current position at Shift.ms, Emily spent 8 years working as a medical writer in the Med Comms industry. Emily is passionate about flipping the Med Comms model on its head to enable the people actually living with the conditions to drive the agenda and benefit from the content.

19.10 Talk 2: Patient involvement in scientific communications

Dr Lauri Arnstein will present an overview of patient involvement in medicines development, focusing on results reporting and publications. There is a growing demand from patients and the public for clear, accessible and relevant scientific content. In addition, patients are increasingly becoming involved in conducting and publishing research. Pharmaceutical clients are starting to respond to this need, and medical communications professionals have the opportunity to develop new skills and support them. Lauri will focus on plain language summaries and patient authorship as two current trends in this area.

Lauri trained and practised as a medical doctor at the University of Cambridge and at the University College London before becoming a medical writer. Her current role within Envision the Patient enables her to apply her expertise in developing scientific content through a patient-focused lens. As Patient Partnership Liaison, Lauri supports pharmaceutical clients to involve patients in their publication plans and medical affairs strategies, and connects with the Envision network of expert patients and patient organisations. She also leads the Plain Language Unit and is committed to guiding teams across Envision to develop clear, accessible and relevant scientific content.

19.40 Networking

20.15 Close