The power of patient partnerships: Why you should publish patient engagement outputs

In recent years, patient engagement has become a driving force in the pharmaceutical industry, encouraging collaboration, communication and advocacy with patient groups to empower patients, enhance clinical research, and improve overall healthcare outcomes. While many pharma companies actively engage in patient engagement initiatives, the insights and results of these collaborations may not be formally published to benefit patients and the wider pharmaceutical industry.

So, why should pharma consider publishing the outputs of their patient partnership projects? 

1. Amplify patient voices 

Patients are the core stakeholders in healthcare. By publishing their unique experiences, perspectives and insights, pharma companies amplify patient voices and ensure their contributions are heard, acknowledged, and later integrated into decision-making processes. Not only can this meaningfully impact research and development processes, but it also demonstrates a pharma company’s commitment to patient engagement, building transparency, credibility, and trust between patients and wider industry stakeholders.

2. Improve patient outcomes

Published insights from patients can be accessed and incorporated into decision-making processes across the industry to improve patient outcomes. This patient-centric approach enhances research quality and increases the likelihood of developing treatments that better address patient needs and preferences.

3. Disseminate knowledge

Publishing valuable insights from patient engagement activities can be pivotal in disseminating knowledge throughout the healthcare industry. As a credible and transparent resource, these insights enable healthcare professionals to access firsthand accounts of patient needs and challenges to foster a deeper understanding of diseases, treatment outcomes, and healthcare delivery to make more informed decisions and influence healthcare practices to better meet patient needs. 

4. Drive greater impact

Partnerships between patient communities and pharma offer the commitment and perseverance to drive true system and policy change, generating results and traction that aren’t possible alone. Published insights that shed light on patients’ unmet needs, challenges, preferences and barriers to care can provide valuable evidence to policymakers and regulatory agencies to drive systemic change and shape policies that align with patient interests.

5. Encourage innovation and collaboration

Publishing outputs from patient partnerships can encourage other pharma companies and industry stakeholders to adopt patient engagement practices, ultimately fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration to drive advancements in patient care and research.

6. Enhance reputation

By documenting patient partnership projects in published papers, pharma companies showcase their commitment to supporting patients and patient organisation partners as they grow and thrive to better serve their community. Not only does this resonate positively with patients, healthcare providers, regulators and investors, fostering trust and credibility in the industry, but it can also elevate a company's reputation as one that values patient engagement and actively supports patient advocacy. 

Patients are ready to share their perspectives and experiences to move the needle and create a better future for all. While pharma possesses the scientific expertise, resources, and capacity to develop innovative therapies, patient communities offer invaluable insights into the lived experiences, challenges, perspectives, and unmet needs around illness, whether it be acute or chronic.

Publishing the insights from these collaborations is a crucial step for pharma companies to revolutionise the pharmaceutical industry's approach to patient engagement. Embracing patient engagement initiatives and formalising the insights and experiences shared by patients is a testament to a pharma company's commitment to patient welfare and a transformative step towards a more patient-centred future to improve overall healthcare outcomes.

Synthesis is a specialist medical communications agency that provides meticulous editorial support across all stages of medical manuscript development and submission. Contact us at info@synthesishealth.co.uk to find out more about how we can help you develop publications that showcase the crucial insights and co-creation of solutions gained from patient partnerships to lobby for change.