Management approach
Edwards Lifesciences focuses on providing patient-centric innovations that save and enhance patient lives. We understand that too often patients do not have influence over the diagnosis of their condition, the type of treatment they receive or how their care is delivered. We work to incorporate patients’ input into the development of our products. By listening to patients and capturing their input through both qualitative and quantitative methods, we can provide care that meets individual needs and preferences.
The Vice President of Patient Engagement is responsible for ensuring that all patient engagement activities are aligned with our Aspirations to transform patient care through innovative technologies and to attract and engage talented employees. Our global Patient Engagement team designs activities to better incorporate the patient perspective into our business strategy. We enable meaningful patient-driven innovation by authentically empowering patients, advocates and healthcare stakeholders to widen access to treatments and transform quality of life.
Our work in this area aligns to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being, in particular sub-target 3.4: by 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.
Growing the patient voice through partnerships
When patients use their voices, they do more than advocate for themselves—they inspire others to speak up and support each other in working toward healthier outcomes. We believe in the work undertaken by patient advocacy groups and we are proud to support those organizations through resource sharing and charitable contributions. Edwards Lifesciences Foundation provides charitable grants to the American Heart Association for their Heart Valve Ambassador Program, which connects heart valve patients to a group of dedicated individuals who offer resources and support, as well as the Heart Valve Education Center, where patients can connect with and learn from other patients. Our Foundation also supports Heart Valve Voice – a patient-focused advocacy organization that collects and shares patient stories and advocates on behalf of patients’ interests. This global program reaches patients in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Italy and France. Other patient advocacy programs the Foundation supports include:
- Mended Hearts Trained Accredited Patient Visitor Program
- Mended Hearts Peer Advocate program
- WomenHeart: National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease and Heart Champions program
- Patient Advocate Foundation’s Heart Valve CareLine and Financial Aid Fund
The Patient Experience
The experience for those suffering from cardiovascular disease remains complex and filled with obstacles. The treatment process can be inconsistent from one patient to the next. Our annual Patient Experience event brings together patients and caregivers in multiple Edwards locations around the world to connect and share their experiences with our employees and other patients. Through this program, Edwards gains important insights into the patient journey, from symptoms and diagnosis through treatment and recovery, as well as the patient concerns and challenges along the way. This input helps us identify opportunities to address gaps in care, and guides our efforts to develop tools, support resources and programs to improve patient access, experience and outcomes.
Evidence indicates that empowered, engaged patients experience better clinical outcomes. For this reason, Edwards’ Patient Engagement function maintains and consistently updates an approach to empowering patients, including sponsoring patient listening sessions, conducting Science of Patient Input (SPI) studies, supporting patient advocacy groups that represent the patient’s voice and helping patients exercise their voices to improve the healthcare system. This approach supports our goal to ensure that our therapies are addressing the needs of patients through an increasingly collaborative patient engagement process. This goal aligns to SDG 3: Good Health & Well-Being.
Addressing patient needs and connection along the journey to heart health
Edwards strives to ensure all patients have a voice in shaping their treatment experience, and we recognize that many patients benefit from minimally invasive procedures. To increase access to minimally invasive procedures, Edwards drives innovation in Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) technology. TAVR allows physicians to replace heart valves with a catheter instead of surgically opening the chest. To learn more about patient experiences with Edwards’ heart valves, browse our collection of patient stories.
Our industry-leading Edwards PatientConnect program offers dedicated care managers and peer ambassadors who support and help patients navigate through what can be an overwhelming, arduous pathway from pre-treatment through recovery. Additionally, our TAVR Patient Community Program supports patients post-procedure with educational materials, resources and opportunities to participate in peer support, outreach and advocacy. This unique program helps support TAVR patients along their journey to heart health and enables them to connect with other patients and get involved in improving the experience for future valve patients.
Edwards places a priority on gathering patient insights across the total product lifecycle, so we invest in patient preference studies among various patient groups to determine the benefit-risk tolerance for new therapies. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, Edwards ensures the patient voice is heard from development to commercialization of new technologies.
Patient resources
Edwards believes informed patients have a more successful treatment experience. Our website offers information on heart valve disease and treatment, as well as FAQs and a glossary of terminology. Additionally, our NewHeartValve website provides comprehensive information on aortic stenosis and options for treatment. Our Foundation also invests in educational resources for patients with Mended Hearts, the American Heart Association and with the Alliance for Aging Research Foundation.