Article
Reframing advocacy: Advancing patient engagement solutions with purpose
Jun 20, 2025 · Authored by Mark Scallon, Darren R. Jones
In an industry defined by breakthrough science and rapid innovation, one of the most powerful yet often overlooked drivers of impact is trust. Trust is not built in the lab. It is earned through meaningful connection with the people who matter most: patients.
For life sciences companies, the journey from lab to life is not complete until the patient experience informs every decision. That requires more than intention. It calls for patient engagement solutions that embed patient advocacy into the core of business strategy.
Why the stakes are rising
Today’s healthcare environment demands more from life sciences organizations. Patients are more informed. Regulators are more watchful. Public expectations around transparency, accountability and equity are higher than ever.
In this climate, partnerships with patient advocacy organizations can’t be transactional or tactical. They must be intentional, compliant and built around shared outcomes. When done well, advocacy does more than enhance reputations. It fuels relevance, innovation and long-term value.
Moving beyond the status quo
Patient advocacy is a strategic discipline that ensures patient voices influence how therapies are developed, delivered and reimbursed. Yet too often, patient advocacy is treated as a goodwill gesture or an afterthought once a product is developed and market ready. That approach is no longer sustainable. As treatment pathways become more personalized and care models more complex, advocacy must start upstream with early stakeholder engagement during R&D, equitable access planning and transparent alignment on shared outcomes.
Life sciences leaders must begin asking tougher questions:
- Are our advocacy investments actually improving patient outcomes, or just checking compliance boxes?
- Have we embedded the voice of the patient into our development and commercialization models, or are we assuming what they need?
- Are we building sustainable relationships with advocacy groups, or just transactional alliances?
Advocacy vs. support: Knowing the difference
It is important to distinguish patient advocacy from patient support. Patient support programs focus on individual treatment access by navigating coverage, adherence and affordability. Patient advocacy, on the other hand, centers on systemic impact. It seeks to shape policy, research priorities and health equity by amplifying patient perspectives.
Organizations that understand and balance both roles in support and advocacy are better positioned to deliver holistic value to the patients and communities they serve.
Four pillars of advocacy maturity
Life sciences companies advancing advocacy must focus on four core areas for lasting relevance:
- Voice of the patient: Bring patient perspectives into R&D, clinical trial design, outcome measurement and post-market surveillance. Use advisory boards not just for feedback but for co-creation.
- Partnerships with advocacy organizations: Engage nonprofits and patient groups as strategic allies, not promotional channels. Co-develop campaigns for disease awareness, access strategies and community education efforts.
- Policy and rights: Support legislative or regulatory initiatives that address real-world patient barriers, such as affordability, privacy or access.
- Reputation and trust: Show up consistently as a patient-centric organization and not only when it’s convenient. Transparency, collaboration and responsiveness are key to advocacy.
A new standard for advocacy
Patient advocacy is no longer optional. It is a strategic imperative for life sciences companies aiming to lead with integrity, innovate responsibly and build lasting trust. This new standard requires more than funding, it demands partnership.
Effective advocacy today means supporting organizations that do the critical work of educating stakeholders, elevating unheard patient experiences and driving earlier identification and treatment for underserved populations. Advocacy groups help the health care ecosystem better understand complex, often misunderstood patient journeys. Life sciences companies must match that effort with purpose, transparency and sustained support.
That starts with shifting from sponsorship to stewardship. Life sciences leaders must move beyond checkbook partnerships and toward shared-value collaborations that are compliant, measurable and aligned with the mission. Advocacy cannot be an afterthought. It must be built into the fabric of how therapies are developed, communicated and delivered.
Because when companies truly support the advocates, they help clear a path for patients.
Moving from reactive to responsible with stewardshipNOW™
Advocacy efforts can no longer be reactive responses to market criticism or regulatory pressure. They must be responsible, measurable initiatives that enhance trust and value across the healthcare ecosystem. At Baker Tilly, we work with clients to shift from ad hoc support to evidence-based stewardship, ensuring that advocacy engagement is aligned, compliant and impactful.
Our stewardshipNOW™ solution is designed to help life sciences companies strategically evaluate, structure and sustain advocacy relationships through a lens of compliance, integrity and purpose.
While stewardshipNOW is not a patient support solution, it enables organizations to confidently build advocacy partnerships that:
- Reinforce mission alignment between corporate goals and patient-centered outcomes
- Mitigate risk by ensuring all initiatives meet the highest regulatory and ethical standards
- Drive accountability through data-backed reporting and outcome tracking
The future of patient advocacy in life sciences will require new models, ones that are proactive, measurable and built on trust. Doing the right thing matters. But doing it the right way? That’s what builds trust. For more information on this topic or to explore our life sciences industry solutions, connect with us today.
