International experts unite to shift perceptions on how our health system needs to prioritise patient experiences

Pharma News: The largest patient focused cancer forum in the Asia Pacific region will host a never before seen line up of international experts to challenge perceptions about cancer care and how our health system values the experiences of patients.

“We are taking a very different approach to the event this year. We are calling on people to think outside the bubble outside the bubble of excuses which deny patients their rights and a chance at life, and beyond the regular rhetoric that surrounds our community’s discussions about possible solutions,” said Richard Vines, CEO, Rare Cancers Australia (RCA) who will be hosting the CanForum 2021 event.

“Across our cancer community, we are bombarded with terms like ‘person centred’ and ‘patient focused’ but there is a real difference between the language used and the actual experience for patients.

“We cannot keep hiding behind buzz words and the illusion of action that they provide. In order to move forward, in order to save lives, we need to break out of this cycle and get past excuses so that we can genuinely value and respect the lived experience of the patients of today and give the patients of tomorrow the opportunities they deserve.”

The event will explore how we can liberate real world data and use patient experiences effectively to create real system reform It will also ignite ideas around the ethical and societal obligations owed to patients and how we should be meeting them.

“At t he heart of this conversation is the fact that patients are people first. In the chaos of cancer care, there are so many that forget that. People should not be defined by their diagnosis, they are more than just numbers or outcomes on a spreadsheet. They are taxpayers citizens, contributors to our society and they have the right to be treated as such and not minimised to one label the label of patient,” Mr Vines continued.

“How can we do this? The answer is simple, it is by listening to people and genuinely including them in the decisions about their care, their life. The complexity lies in how we do this across a vast health care system particularly one that is filled with contradictions For example, we all agree that patients have the right to shared decision making But how does this interact with the clinician’s obligation to do no harm?

“While it is promising that there is interest from all sectors to find a way forward on this, particularly as we undertake the development of our country’s first Australian Cancer Plan. We need to take this opportunity to
make sure that the solutions we pursue are those that genuinely and tangibly value the experience s of patients as people first CanForum looks to challenge our perceptions around this by looking at the issues faced by patients and families through the lens of experts from outside the Australian cancer bubble.

Renowned international experts include:

• Dr Amy Abernethy, who spearheads the clinical research work of Google through Verily Life Sciences. She is the leading international expert on real world evidence and big data and its application in the
  health sector practising under the firm belief that “all of health care can learn from the experience of every patient.”
• Dr Vishal Bhatnagar, who leads the Patient Focused Drug Development program at the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Oncology Center of Excellence in the US.
• Prof Peter Clark, who was instrumental in the evolution and development of the Cancer Drug Fund in the UK and is currently the Chair of the NHS England Chemotherapy Clinical Reference Group and the National Clinical Lead for the Cancer Drugs Fund.
• Dr William Smith, an international expert on public policy in the life sciences field who has held senior staff positions in the White House, US Congress and pharmaceutical industry He is currently a Visiting
  Fellow in Life Sciences at the Pioneer Institute, a Boston based think tank.

Register for the CanForum 2021.