Sept. 2, 2019 – Although healthcare marketing communicators and publishers are busy professionals with a lot on their plates, staying on top of healthcare policy developments in Washington, D.C., can both enhance and further their careers, according to panelists speaking at the recent Coalition for Healthcare Communication Rising Leaders Conference on Healthcare Policy.
“Every time I’ve come to this conference I’ve learned helpful strategies and tools that I can take back to my team and to my clients,” Violet Aldaia, president, Daggerwing Health, told conference attendees at a session entitled, “Why What Happens in Washington Matters in Your Career.” Although some of the information represents actions that may happen in the future, Aldaia noted, “it’s important to keep our eye on all these issues and legislation, because it affects how we plan.”
She also remarked that in addition to staying informed, attending the Rising Leaders Conference is important because it enables individuals “to keep pushing these issues forward and bringing them to the clients’ tables as trusted advisers.”
Powell Tate Chair Pam Jenkins asserted that “we really can’t truly serve our clients or serve our companies unless we are steeped in policy issues.” Jenkins also shared that healthcare communicators “have a role to play in bringing drugs to market and helping people get access to the drugs they need.” Part of that equation is mastering the policy issues that could either enable or block this goal, she indicated.
Wendy Blackburn, executive vice president, InTouch Group, encouraged Rising Leaders attendees to “follow policies, follow the news, and look for opportunities like this to gather information and bring it back to your colleagues, in service to your organization and your clients.”
Havas Health & You Chief Medical Officer Karsten Risch, M.D., Ph.D., MPH, who also serves as Chair of the Coalition’s Executive Committee, explained that understanding how healthcare policy is made makes people better communicators. “Knowing more about healthcare policy may give you new ammunition to support your positions, takes you out of your narrow strategic mindset and widens your perspective,” according to Risch. “That widened perspective makes you a more informed person in front of your clients.”