Enhancing Patient Support: Infusion Companies' Role in Promoting Health Equity

Matt Toresco, CEO, CPO, Archo Advocacy LLC

Please share your name, title, and a brief overview of your professional history.

My name is Matt Toresco and I am the founder, CEO, and CPO at Archo Advocacy, LLC. I also serve as the Editor-in-Chief of Elavay: Patient Insights. Elevated Healthcare. With almost 2 decades of health care industry experience, I’m passionate about patient advocacy. I specialize in fostering positive relationships between advocacy groups and the health care industry. Having personally experienced spinal cord injury and chronic pain, I deeply understand the importance of patient advocacy and aim to leverage my expertise to drive health care team leaders to prioritize patients' needs and well-being.

Can you explain the key differences between health equity and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) and why it is important for health care professionals to understand these distinctions?

Health equity means ensuring that everyone has equal access to health care. While achieving complete equity may be challenging, we can work towards addressing the social determinants and drivers of health (SDOH) that lead to health inequities. These factors include social and economic inequality, affordable housing, the physical environment, education, transportation, food security, social support networks, systemic barriers, and access to technology. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) involves fostering a diverse and inclusive mindset within a team to ensure a variety of backgrounds and experiences are considered in decision-making. In the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, there has been a focus on DE&I in terms of clinical trial participation. However, without addressing SDOH, diverse populations may not be effectively recruited for these trials. All departments within an organization must have a shared understanding of these elements to address the root cause of the issue.
 
How do market influences impact health equity and patient care outcomes, and what steps can health care providers take to address these disparities?

Market influencers can take the next step to improve patient outcomes by understanding the patient. This includes considering the patient's environment, social factors affecting their health, access to necessary medications, and ability to comply with treatment. Health care providers, hospitals, infusion companies, and anyone interacting with the patient must be aware of any biases that could prevent them from understanding the patient's social situation, and they should address the patient's needs comprehensively.
 
In what ways can infusion companies enhance patient support to help mitigate health disparities and promote a more equitable health care environment?

Infusion companies can engage with patients to understand them as individuals rather than just filling out the prescription and infusing the product. They can help reduce health disparities by understanding what may prevent patients from receiving the necessary care and remaining compliant. This includes addressing transportation, affordability, childcare, and more challenges.

What are some practical strategies shared in your NICA 2024 session that health care professionals and infusion therapy providers can implement to advance health equity, and what metrics should they use to measure their progress? Can you share any specific examples or case studies?

Health care professionals and infusion providers should start by engaging with the patient holistically to understand their current situation and identify any potential barriers to care in the future. Ultimately, patients are human beings requiring medical attention. Recognizing their challenges as individuals is fundamental to providing better patient care and ensuring they receive support throughout their care journey.

What is one key takeaway from your session at NICA that you hope the audience walked away with?

My co-speaker for the session John Hoffman emphasizes the importance of the infusion provider, pointing out that they may be the only person the patient interacts with outside of their primary care provider. All health care professionals, including infusion providers, should be responsible for understanding the patient's situation and the potential obstacles they may encounter in accessing fair and equal care.