Fran Kochman
National Director, Advocacy & Alliance Development
GlaxoSmithKline
Fran is a highly accomplished patient advocacy, healthcare policy influencer, and strategic consultant, with 30 years of diverse background in the pharmaceutical industry.
Fran will be one of the distinguished speakers at the 5th Annual Strengthening Patient Advocacy Relations Conference.
What motivated you to participate in Q1’s 5th Annual Advocacy event?
I like the overall theme which extends the role of advocates and advocacy organizations to advance their capabilities to drive decision making and ensure the patient voice is heard, and valued, and included. I think the topics to be presented are important in ensuring the ways of working between stakeholders is transparent and accepted as mutually respectful and aligned.
What is the best part about being in your advocacy role?
Working to transcend patients stories and experiences into long term sustainable changes that benefit other patients facing similar issues.
Why do you find the role of patient advocacy to be important?
It is the voice of the patient (told themselves, or through an advocacy organization) that can educate others and drive decision making which improves disease outcomes and a patients quality of care and life.
Why do you find your particular topic to be of importance to this years’ agenda?
There are different times to engage patients during treatment development and delivery. Just as important, are the different times and ways to engage patients throughout their disease journey, which in many cases never ends, in a way to better understand what is valuable to them and how they can maximize their experience, and build their capabilities to drive change.
