Valuable health technologies must improve health and well-being of patients. For sensitizing healthcare industry stakeholders for the unique perspective and values of patients we developed a workshop format including both knowledge transfer and experiential modules.

The one-day pilot workshop was attended by two patient representatives and multidisciplinary participants from the healthcare industry (n=12) who wanted to learn about patient involvement in health technology assessment (HTA) and healthcare decision making and the implications for product development. Three content sessions covered key aspects of HTA and patient engagement and each was followed by an session which aimed at discovering the values of participants as healthy individuals or when the diagnosis of a disease and the subsequent therapy decisions (including potential clinical trial participation) impact quality and length of life. The workshop concluded with the participants prioritizing their expectations for innovation and HTA as patients or as citizens.

Overall, participants rated the workshop as excellent or good for knowledge and experiential sessions. Integration of both learning modalities was described as innovative, useful, and enjoyable. Participation in the clinical trial session triggered cognitive responses among the industry participants due to a strong focus on advancement of science for innovation. Otherwise, the responses of the industry participants matched those of the patient representatives well. Overall, patient perspectives were considered useful to enrich the value perceptions beyond those of industry. Emotions describing the personal experiences included despair, shock, anger, guilt, hope, and the will to live. As citizens, they emphasized expectations such as finding solutions, remaining independent, enjoying life and “giving back”.

Innovative learning structures integrating rational and emotional aspects can allow researchers, marketers, or other stakeholders from the life-science industry to better understand patient perspectives. The format may be well suited for team building and alignment of team values around patient-needs.