Kirsten York- Beyond the Blind Spots: Crafting Emotionally Intelligent Patient Odysseys

With a focus on Patient Focused Drug Development (PFDD), many pharma companies have begun incorporating patient insights into protocols, recruitment strategies, and brand messaging, yet many efforts miss the mark. In this episode, I chat with with Kirsten York, an industry expert with over 25 years of experience. Kirsten is passionate about helping teams identify and overcome entrenched beliefs that can get in the way of creating trust and building authentic connections. Kirsten shares the importance of creating meaningful patient journeys and shares how the standard "cookie-cutter" approach does not work. We discuss what it really takes to build a “patient odyssey”—an approach that goes far beyond the typical patient journey methodology. Kirsten shares how she gathers insights straight from patients’ voices on social media, discussion groups, and advocacy platforms to create journeys that actually resonate. She also explains why these journeys need to evolve over time and should be used to inform every aspect of drug development- from molecule to market. If you’re curious about how pharma can lead with empathy and build more authentic connections with patients, this episode is for you! Kirsten's Bio: Kirsten York is the Executive Vice President of Human Experience Strategy at ENTRADA. As a Patient Experience Organization, or PXO, ENTRADA is driven to reimagine the way patients interact with pharmaceutical companies throughout their treatment journey.   With over 30 years of experience in pharmaceutical, biotech, and device brand strategy and communication, Kirsten has developed deep expertise for impacting the human experience across the life sciences industry, with particular emphasis in oncology and rare disease.   Kirsten possesses a deep passion for brokering the intersection between patients/caregivers and pharma and is committed to helping people feel more in control of their health journey than ever before. Whether a product is in early development or has been on the market for years, Kirsten is able to identify opportunities for intervention and innovation that can transform the way people experience their health odyssey.   Kirsten specializes in Patient-Focused Strategy, Patient Positioning, meaningful Advocacy Partnerships, Lexicon & Data Visualization, and uncovering powerful patient insights than result in brand transformation. You can connect with Kirsten via email at: [email protected] Or on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirstenyork/ To find out more about Entrada: https://thinkentrada.com/