The Briefing Room – Series 5, Episode 1
Featuring Chris Macdonald, Executive Director, Global Market Access Strategy Lead, Boehringer Ingelheim in conversation with Jo Spadaccino, co-founder at Stirred.
In this episode, brought to you by the HCA Foresight Committee, we explore how the pharmaceutical industry is adapting to rising access and affordability challenges, the growing influence of geopolitics and AI, and the evolving role of healthcare communications in building trust, amplifying patient voices, and helping innovation reach patients through more effective healthcare systems.
Key Themes from the Conversation
- Access to medicines is the biggest challenge
Innovation is advancing rapidly, but ensuring patients can access and afford treatments remains a major issue.
- Geopolitics is reshaping healthcare Drug pricing, tariffs, supply chains, and national healthcare policies are increasingly influenced by global political and economic forces.
- Pharma must focus on system value, not just product value Success depends on improving diagnosis, care pathways, and patient outcomes across the healthcare system, not simply delivering effective medicines.
- AI will transform healthcare and communications AI is expected to change diagnosis, patient engagement, healthcare delivery, and commercial communications models.
- Trust and credibility are becoming critical In an AI-driven environment, organisations must maintain accuracy, transparency, integrity, and strong governance.
- Great healthcare communications simplify complexity Effective communications are clear, evidence-based, audience-focused, and help stakeholders make better decisions.
- Patient voices need to be central Authentic patient stories help highlight unmet needs, drive urgency, and influence healthcare policy and practice.
- Healthcare systems have significant barriers to care Low awareness, delayed diagnosis, fragmented pathways, and capacity constraints often prevent patients from benefiting from innovation.
- Future communicators need both human and technical skills AI, data, omnichannel engagement, and analytics will become more important, but relationship-building, trust, and storytelling remain essential.
- Storytelling drives action The most powerful communications combine evidence with compelling human stories to turn complex healthcare challenges into meaningful change.
👉 Watch or listen now below to gain fresh perspectives.
