The impact of patient engagement has been demonstrated by numerous case studies for specific diseases and products, as well as a model for the return on investment. There is now a growing call for expanding beyond single examples of patient engagement to a scale that is part of routine medical practice across diseases and conditions.

Our goal with this report is to highlight the current gaps and provide a forward-looking perspective on initiatives that will help patient engagement become a fully integrated practice throughout the product lifecycle.

Regardless of whether you are a representative from a patient organization, medical product developer, or academic researcher, there are ways to join the collective effort to build on ongoing patient engagement efforts and fill the gaps to take that engagement to scale. We reexamined a suite of initiatives— identified in our 2016 report “Expanding the Science of Patient Input: Pain Points and Potential”—by conducting the following to understand the needs of a more diverse set of patient groups:

1. A workshop with 20 patient organization representatives and medical product developers
2. 10 key informant interviews
3. 40 patient organizations surveys