PHILADELPHIA – October 6, 2020 – Health Union will lead a live virtual event – the company’s first – on Oct. 15 that aims to capture the impact of COVID-19 on people with chronic health conditions and glean insights into how biopharma companies can address changing needs (registration here).

Titled “The COVID-19 Effect: How Pharma Can Adapt to the Evolving Patient Experience,” the free event will feature real-time conversations with patient advocates from across Health Union’s chronic condition-specific online health communities. Each of the five conversations will focus on how the patient advocates are navigating health-related topics that have taken center stage throughout the coronavirus pandemic, such as telehealth, social distancing and isolation.

These personal conversations between patient advocates and a Health Union team member will be partnered with the company’s patient-reported survey data to give attendees an understanding of how these topics will continue to shape the health landscape. Each of these sessions will include advice and “food for thought” on how pharma companies can better address patients’ unmet needs related to these topics. Each conversation will be followed by a brief question-and-answer session; attendees can submit questions within the chat function following the session.

The schedule for the virtual event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET, is as follows:

• 10 a.m. ET – MS & Social Distancing: Devin’s Resilience 
• 11 a.m. ET – Psoriasis Used to Isolate Reena, Now It Connects Her
• Noon ET – Telehealth Perspectives: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
• 1 p.m. ET – Healthcare + Self-Care: Kerrie’s Migraine Journey
• 2 p.m. ET – Listen & Learn from People with Lung Cancer, Like Lisa

“The coronavirus pandemic has impacted everybody in some shape or form, but people living with chronic health conditions have been affected in unique ways that might not be obvious to many,” said Tim Armand, co-founder and president of Health Union. “By illuminating these stories during this virtual event – via conversations with our amazing, thoughtful patient advocates – Health Union hopes to inform people who can make a true impact, such as biopharma companies, how they can make a difference.”

Interested participants can attend any or all of the sessions throughout the one-day event, and can access the event homepage via web browser or the Cadence app. Register, for free, at eventcadence.com/e/health-union-COVID-effect.

More Information About the Sessions

“MS & Social Distancing: Devin’s Resilience” (10-10:30 a.m. ET) will dive into the ups and downs of MultipleSclerosis.net patient advocate Devin Garlit’s 20-year journey with multiple sclerosis, including what’s changed or stayed the same throughout the pandemic. The conversation will be led by Health Union’s Emily Downward, senior director, consumer strategy and storytelling, and Courtney Robertson, executive research director.

During “Psoriasis Used to Isolate Reena, Now it Connects Her” (11-11:30 a.m. ET), PlaquePsoriasis.com patient advocate Reena Ruparelia will discuss her unique experience living with psoriasis, focusing on her relationship with healthcare professionals (HCP) and the positive impact of online connections. The session will be led by Health Union’s Lauren Lawhon, chief operating officer, and Katie MacTurk, senior research director.

“Telehealth Perspectives: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” (noon-12:45 p.m. ET) will feature a roundtable on telehealth experiences, focusing on challenges, opportunities and impact on the HCP-patient relationship. Participants will include ParkinsonsDisease.net advocates Angela Robb and Karl Robb and InflammatoryBowelDisease.net advocate Amanda Osowski. Health Union’s Rebecca Braglio, executive director for community development, will lead the conversation.

Migraine.com patient advocate Kerrie Smyres will share what she wishes she knew at the start of her migraine journey, detail her shift to self-care and experiences with telehealth during “Healthcare + Self-Care: Kerrie’s Migraine Journey” (1-1:30 p.m. ET). The session will be led by Downward and Robertson.

During “Listen & Learn From People with Lung Cancer, Like Lisa” (2-2:30 p.m. ET), LungCancer.net advocate Lisa Moran will discuss her personal experience living with late-stage lung cancer, focusing on changing treatment during the pandemic and how she copes with isolation and tips for pharma. The conversation will be led by Lawhon and MacTurk.

About Health Union, LLC

Since 2010, Health Union has encouraged social interactions that evolve into valuable online health conversations, helping people with chronic conditions find the information, connection, and validation they seek. The company creates condition-specific online communities – publishing original, daily content and continuously cultivating social conversation – to support, educate and connect millions of people with challenging, chronic health concerns. Today, the Health Union family of brands includes 29 online health communities, including LungCancer.net, ParkinsonsDisease.net, MultipleSclerosis.net and Migraine.com.