On December 4 and 5, 2024, Jessy Ranger, Myeloma Canada’s Director of Patient Programs, Health Policy & Advocacy, attended the Forum de l’industrie de la santé de Québec (FISQ) as a participant and panelist.  

Jessy drew attention to the barriers patients face when trying to access medical treatments — whether these are social, financial, professional or logistical. Addressing those barriers could lead to better use of the health network’s resources and better outcomes for patients.  

The panel discussion, “Accelerating access through the modernization of health technology assessment processes,” was presented by Abbvie and moderated by Allison Wills, Partner at 20Sense. Panelists included Jessy Ranger (Myeloma Canada), Rami Fayed (ice-President and General Manager, Abbvie Canada), and Samuel Perreault ( Assistant Director of the Department of Drug and Technology Assessment for Reimbursement Purposes, Institut national d’excellence en santé et services sociaux du Québec [INESSS]). Also discussed were the challenges of evaluating and reimbursing drugs in Quebec.  

Discussions like these are a vital part of advocacy work because they present issues to the policy makers and industry leaders, who in turn define how treatments are accessed in Canada. 

Learn more about advocacy and drug access.