— Patient Council will advise ICER on engaging with patient groups while also identifying strategies to communicate ICER’s work to patient communities and the broader public —
BOSTON, July 11, 2023 – The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) announced the creation of a Patient Council to advise on ICER’s patient engagement strategy, outreach, and process for input into drug reviews and broader initiatives. The Council comprises several patient representatives with a range of expertise on health technology assessment (HTA) and engaging with ICER, offering a variety of perspectives for evaluation of the ICER process. Patient Council members are participating as individuals, and are not representing the views of their affiliated organizations.
“ICER will continue to prioritize our patient engagement work with this accomplished group of advocates,” said Sarah Emond, MPP, ICER’s President-Elect. “Their collective experience advocating for fair access to treatments will inform ICER’s ever-evolving approach to incorporating patient voices into every stage of our work. We remain dedicated to our mission to advance the use of evidence to improve health care affordability and access for all patients and their families, while also recognizing the importance of rewarding medical innovations that benefit patients most.”
The Council consists of the following members, all of whom will serve a 3-year term:
- Tiffany Westrich-Robertson (ICER Patient Council Co-Chair), CEO, International Foundation for Autoimmune & Autoinflammatory Arthritis (AiArthritis)
- Dina Thachet, Lupus Patient Advocate, Lupus and Allied Diseases Association (LADA)
- Isiah Lineberry, Executive Director, Harrisburg Family Health Care
- Liz Kopco, Diabetes Patient Advocate Leader
- Richard Pezzillo, Executive Director, New England Hemophilia Association
- Rev. Tammie Denyse, Cofounder & President, Carrie’s TOUCH Breast Cancer Organization
Catherine Koola, ICER’s Director of Patient Engagement, will also serve as a Co-Chair of the Council. Members will meet quarterly to evaluate ICER’s current patient engagement program, identify opportunities to strengthen the process and diversity of participation, and advise on ensuring accessibility and inclusivity of ICER’s public-facing materials. ICER will also host an annual in-person Patient Council Summit.
ICER’s work with the Patient Council is supported in part by funding from The Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation, which provides grants for medical research of practical benefit.
About ICER
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) is an independent non-profit research institute that produces reports analyzing the evidence on the effectiveness and value of drugs and other medical services. ICER’s reports include evidence-based calculations of prices for new drugs that accurately reflect the degree of improvement expected in long-term patient outcomes, while also highlighting price levels that might contribute to unaffordable short-term cost growth for the overall health care system.