How to get your Patient Voice Heard to Improve Healthcare

<p>Jen dives deep into how and why she co-founded Savvy-Co-op, whose mission is to empower patients to co-create new solutions alongside health innovators. This includes a discussion of her PhD studies in human factors. </p><p>Jen walks us through what it’s like for a patient to get their voice heard and provide feedback to healthcare companies and health innovators through Savvy, all while being monetarily compensated for their time. She also explains why it’s crucial for health innovators to seek diverse patient voices. </p><p>Cheryl and Jen  discuss the importance of quality of life (QOL) measures as part of patient-reported outcomes (PROs).</p><p>The episode ends with a summary of Jen’s life experiences as a young person with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and her advice for newly diagnosed patients today.</p><p><strong>Speaker bios:</strong></p><p>Jen Horonjeff was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis as an infant and now has a laundry list of other conditions and surprises (like a brain tumor). She is passionate about elevating and valuing the patient voice, and went on to become a health outcomes researcher, human factors engineer, FDA Consumer Representative, and, most importantly, a patient advocate. Jen earned a PhD in Environmental Medicine from NYU, and studies patient-centered outcomes at Columbia University Medical Center. </p><p>Cheryl Crow is an occupational therapist who has lived with rheumatoid arthritis for seventeen years. Her life passion is helping others with rheumatoid arthritis figure out how to live a full life despite arthritis, by developing tools to navigate physical, emotional and social challenges. She formed the educational company Arthritis Life in 2019 after seeing a huge need for more engaging, accessible, and (dare I say) FUN patient education and self-management resources. </p><p><strong>Episode links:</strong></p><ul><li>Savvy Coop <a href="https://twitter.com/savvy_coop">Twitter </a>and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/savvy_coop/">Instagram</a>: @savvy_coop</li><li>Savvy We