Let’s face it: We are healthcare industry professionals who become patients at one time or another. With our disease, treatment, and care access knowledge (maybe some hubris sprinkled in), we may think we can weather through the storm of the patient journey we talk so much about. If a life-altering diagnosis shook you, could you navigate it all?
We were incredibly fortunate to speak with Rocio Manghani, a 24-year veteran in our industry focused on market access who is a breast cancer thriver. Below are just snippets of her partnership journey.
I Thought I Knew
“I thought I knew what it was like putting myself in the patient’s shoes before I was diagnosed with cancer. I would always say things like, ‘Oh, it’s important for patients to get timely access.’ But no … as a patient, it’s very different.”
Is It Spreading Right Now?
“After the chemotherapy I had to get radiation, and that radiation was initially denied because of the type of radiation it was. The type of radiation that I needed was different because for me, the breast cancer was on my left side; and it was large and it was close to my heart. The type of radiation that my radiation oncologist recommended was one that would not damage my heart. It was initially denied. The payer isn’t denying things because they don’t want to pay for it. They’re denying things because they just want to make sure that it’s the appropriate thing for the patient.
“I remember panicking because it was after the surgery; I was told that I still had a positive margin, you know, after which meant that I still had a bit of cancer left. And I was so scared because all I could think about was what happens if the cancer is going to spread, right?”
Everything Really Is a Partnership
“The last thing I wanted was for my payer to deny a therapy. At one point when it was denied, I just broke down and thought, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ Chemo is tiring, and to have to deal with insurance or deal with anyone is difficult when all you want to do is just sleep and not wake up.
“I think it’s important to work both as the patient advocating for yourself but also have the doctor’s office advocating for you. So, it was really a partnership I would say, you know, with my oncologist’s office, but then also me putting a voice to the patient on the other side with the insurance. Manufacturers realizing that at the end of the day there truly is a whole person around everything that’s being done.”
Let’s Humanize the Journey
When a patient looks into a mirror, they see a person. A person with:
Loved ones and friends
Parents and children
Hope and fear
Soccer games to attend
Aisles to walk daughters down
Grandchildren to spoil and then give back to their parents
Vacations-of-a-lifetime plans
And so, so much more
We—our industry and system, providers, payers, and pharma and life sciences companies—must peer over that patient’s shoulder, gaze into that same mirror, and see a person. See Rocio, a person they can partner with to help them live and thrive.
What we like about Rocio’s story is that we can all learn from it. But what we love about Rocio’s story is that she is here to tell it. To listen to the full conversation with Rocio, click here.
Seeing Patients as a Person
We are collaborating with Aventria Health Group (a secondary provider–focused agency working with Pharma, biotech, and medical devices) and Relentless Health Value™ podcast (focused on healthcare influencers) to improve the patient-physician partnership journey and outcomes.
For more information, please email us at info@qc-health.org.
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