Section Editor: Lisa Chamberlain James

Involving patients in company-sponsored medical publications: Learning from collaboration with a patient advocacy group to engage patient authors

Authors: Aki Yoshikawa, Atsuko Iwata, Miho Hatano, Yuko Kojima

Patient authors can clarify the disconnect between patients and healthcare providers. This can make publications more relevant to the real world and support better shared treatment decision-making between patients and physicians. Eli Lilly Japan K.K. collaborated with a patient advocacy group (PAG) in Japan from the study planning to publications from 2021 to 2022. Our intention was to co-author publications with patient authors, but patients declined to be authors for the publications. It is vital to share the value and expectations of author participation with potential patient authors. This article outlines the challenges in involving patient authors and how to overcome these challenges based on our experiences in collaboration with the PAG for company-sponsored medical publications.

Medical Writing. 2024;33(3):89–93. https://doi.org/10.56012/rowv7554