9th Patient-Centered Engagement World Congress 2026 Americas
“Part of The Patient Centricity & Collaboration Series”
Driving Partnership, Access & Measurable Outcomes
17th – 18th September 2026, Boston, MA, USA
Equity, Access & Sustainable Outcomes
- Developing targeted strategies to ensure all patient populations are empowered to engage with their care plans consistently.
- Incorporating non-clinical factors into engagement models to provide more holistic and effective support.
- Building and sustaining collaborative relationships with local organizations to bridge the gap between industry, healthcare providers, and the communities they serve.
- Establishing robust metrics to track progress and ensure that improvements in patient engagement lead to equitable health outcomes across all demographics.
Moderator:
Panelists:
Erica Alshehabi, Sr. AD, Patient Recruitment and Representation, Boehringer Ingelheim
Tricha Shivas, Chief of Staff and Strategy, Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research
Linda Kollmar, AVP, Patient Insights & Engagement Value & Implementation, Merck
- Partnering to translate insights into evidence-based publications that elevate the community voice
- Uncovering unmet needs to drive meaningful differentiation
- Engaging patients where they are through unique, community-centered approaches
Jordanna Mora, Vice President, Patient Advocacy & Centricity, Beam Therapeutics
- Understand and address access to technology that influence digital health
- Utilize digital tools that address language barriers, educational and cultural differences across populations to create partnerships for digital literacy.
- Pair clinical trial data systems with community-based approaches; incorporate telehealth, and other low-friction platforms that communities typically use and trust
- Address affordability / infrastructure issues related to digital literacy
Laura A. Williams, Chief Patient Officer, ardelyx
- Low-bandwidth engagement strategies to support users with limited internet connectivity.
- Multilingual platforms to ensure linguistic inclusivity across diverse regions.
- Rural outreach solutions that are designed to connect with underserved and remote populations.
- Community partnership integration to leverage local expertise and build sustainable engagement.
RESERVED
- Ensuring transparency for both providers and patients at the point of care.
- Streamlining workflows to reduce administrative delays.
- Enhancing the management of complex treatment plans.
- Connecting patients with the necessary resources to mitigate rising costs.
- Increased competition for eligible patients continues to cause significant delays in trial timelines.
- Successful enrollment is becoming more dependent on flexible participation options and simplified protocols to improve conversion rates.
- Clinical sites are experiencing a rising workload to maintain patient engagement and prevent attrition.
- Predictive analytics and AI are becoming essential tools for improving patient targeting and preventing dropouts.
RESERVED
- Developing flexible frameworks that integrate both digital and physical touchpoints to reach a broader audience.
- Implementing accessible messaging and outreach tools for individuals with limited technical proficiency or high-speed connectivity.
- Identifying and addressing the specific geographic and socioeconomic barriers that hinder participation in these regions.
- Evaluating the hardware and infrastructure requirements necessary to support sustainable digital inclusion.
Christian Rubio, Executive Director, EverythingALS
- Establishing direct links between patient engagement and clinical or quality results.
- Leveraging insights gained from patient experiences to inform our strategies.
- Evaluating the long-term effectiveness of treatments.
- Providing clear evidence of value to healthcare systems and payers.
Tricha Shivas, Chief of Staff and Strategy, Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research
- Understand the scale and patterns of today’s patient cost burden in employer-based plans
- Learn how patient costs changed compared to wages, insurance premiums and medicine prices
- Recognize who benefits – and who is left exposed – under current benefit designs
- Learn from evidence in West Virginia how point‐of‐sale rebate pass‐through changes patient costs and medication use
- Hear more about J&J’s engagement with patients to understand barriers with insurance design
Ulrich Neumann, Director, Access & Policy Research, Johnson & Johnson
- Establishing shared goals to ensure all parties are working toward the same objectives.
- Fostering collaboration between healthcare systems, industry partners, and advocacy groups.
- Identifying successful engagement strategies and implementing them on a national level.
- Developing consistent benchmarks for patient engagement across the industry.
Moderator:
Dakar De La Cruz, Global Director, Patient Advocacy, AstraZeneca
Panelist:
Linda Kollmar, AVP, Patient Insights & Engagement Value & Implementation, Merck
- Defining what a meaningful patient partnership looks like in practice.
- Aligning incentives across diverse healthcare stakeholders.
- Strategies for scaling successful engagement models on a national level.
- Proven methods for building a healthcare system that patients can fully trust.