I am so excited to share how my patient advocacy efforts are expanding.
I have recently accepted an invitation to join HealthiVibe’s patient steering committee.
We are a small, yet diverse group of chronic illness patients who are working together to bring the patient voice to clinical trials, drug development, and other areas of healthcare.
The chronic illnesses we represent include but are not limited to rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and diabetes.
*Disclosure: This post was sponsored by HealthiVibe
Why is patient advocacy necessary?
For healthcare to work, we the patient, need to be heard.
I think we can all agree that cures for our diseases would be the ideal outcome, but until that day comes we need drug developers to understand our needs and wants when it comes to managing our health.
This is where the patient’s voice comes in. We can help change and shape the future of chronic healthcare.
Always on my mind
The following are questions that I have asked myself often throughout my chronic life and the answers are what the medical community needs to hear.
Would you be willing to try a medication that only offers to slightly improve one symptom?
Do the number of side effects hold you back from trying a new medication for your illness?
Would you be willing to join a clinical trial? Why or why not?
What symptoms would you like to see more attention given to?
Are there areas of your illness that you feel are being ignored by the medical community?
What other concerns do you have about drug development and clinical trials?
Why I advocate
I advocate for many reasons.
My own health and family top my list, but so does wanting the medical community to have a better understanding of what is important to us and what our most urgent needs are. And that is why being a part of HealthiVibe patient steering committee is so important to me.
I look forward to discussing the questions shared above and working together to improve all of our lives.
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