Patient Engagement in Pharma: A Psychologist Perspective

Terms such as “patient engagement”, “centricity”, and “patient first” are often loosely used to describe a company vision, a joint objective in establishing an ethos which incorporates the person who matters the most, the patient.

Traditionally, a psychologist is known to work in clinical settings, directly with people experiencing psychological difficulties, within a healthcare structure. This is still the premise; however, the foundational knowledge and understanding of human behaviour has driven psychologists into a new, previously unconsidered professional field: the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry. This industry is pivotal in clinical drug development, new discoveries, innovation, and the reach is endless. So, what is a psychologist doing working in this environment? This book offers insights on how to build successful patient engagement strategies based on behaviour science and the real-world experience of a psychologist working in the pharmaceutical industry.

Dr Sumira Riaz is a Chartered Health Psychologist, Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapist & Global Patient Engagement Lead working across pharma and healthcare agency. She has presented at European and global patient engagement and psychology conferences. She has 18 years of experience in this field, published in psychology journals, and 900 plus clinical hours, working with people diagnosed with mental health and chronic conditions. She specializes in strategy and psychological interventions, oversees the development and implementation of impactful patient engagement strategies and programs across various therapeutic areas and regions.

Dr Riaz is the co-chair of the patient engagement interest group and elected as the education and training lead for the Division of Health Psychology (DHP).