How can the problems people face along the pathway from TB diagnosis to treatment be transformed into concrete solutions for health systems? This was the focus of a presentation by Yuliia Kalancha, Executive Director of TB Europe Coalition, during a webinar on Understanding and Applying Health Technology Assessment.
The online event, held on 22 September for participants of last year’s European Respiratory Patient Academy, explored how patient and community perspectives can contribute to evidence-based decision-making and changes in health systems.
Using TB as an example, Yuliia demonstrated how to identify specific gaps along the care cascade where people are lost before receiving further diagnosis or treatment. She also highlighted key points where people do not receive the support they need and explained how to analyse the underlying causes of these gaps, formulate concrete demands for health systems, and measure the contribution of civil society organisations and communities.
The webinar also featured Salvatore Pirri, who explained how decisions are made about which medicines and health technologies will be funded and made available to patients, and where patient communities can engage in this process. He discussed how the effectiveness, safety and cost of treatments are assessed, how new medicines are compared with existing options, why price and budget impact matter, and at which stages patient organisations can contribute their data and arguments.
Leanne Hale, Respiratory Nurse Specialist Lead at Asthma + Lung UK, focused on how patient experience can be used not simply to listen to patients, but to drive practical changes. She shared how recurring problems can be identified through a large number of conversations with people, transformed into organisational data, and then used to improve services. For example, feedback from people with lung conditions showed a need for nutritional support, which led the organisation to introduce access to a dietitian.
