Patient and consumer satisfaction isn’t only about better outcomes. It’s very much about the financial journey they have to endure. At the INVEST Digital Health conference in Dallas at Pegasus Park September 28, in collaboration with Health Wildcatters, the patient perspective will be part of a series of conversations across digital health around employee benefits and consumerization in healthcare.
Derra Howard, founder and patient advocate for Saving Grace Epilepsy Foundation, will be part of a panel on navigating the financial journey in healthcare. In response to emailed questions, she described what it’s like to have a lifelong chronic condition, particularly the stress and anxiety of not only managing one’s health but also medical bills and the toll it can take.
“I honestly think medical bills are hard when you are sick. Even more so when it happens unexpectedly. As I started having seizures as a child a lot of my bills fell on my parents. During that time, insurance companies wouldn’t cover me, or it was too expensive to cover me,” Howard recalled. “As an adult, I never wanted to go to the hospital even if I needed to. I understood that was a bill which meant more stress.”
The panel, Improving the financial experience in healthcare, will also explore costs for prescription drugs, hospital stays, and how to ensure that patients don’t have to endure greater financial burdens while tackling troubling illnesses or chronic conditions.
Other participants in the panel, which is sponsored by Experian, include:
- Adam Dakin, partner, HealthTech, Dreamit HealthTech (moderator)
- Jason Considine, chief commercial officer, Experian Health
- Derra Howard, founder and patient advocate, Saving Grace Epilepsy Foundation
- Florian Otto, co-founder and CEO, Cedar
- Adrian Rodriguez, vice president of quality and safety, Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, PBC
- Maria del Carmen Uceda, chief surgical sherpa, Surgical Sherpa
There will also be networking opportunities and a startup pitch contest Pitch Perfect, which will spotlight companies seeking to address pain points in healthcare.
To view the full agenda, click here.
Photo: KLH49, Getty Images
