Nicolas Garnier, Chief Patient Officer at Servier, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Young Patients Are Tomorrow’s Leaders and Today’s Partners.
We often speak about young patients as the future of healthcare. I would go one step further: they are very much its present.
Yet many of the decisions we make today will shape the systems they will navigate for decades to come. Their perspective is not something we should wait for. It is something we should actively seek and learn from now.
Young patients often experience healthcare through a lens shaped by transition, identity, technology, and possibility. They are not only thinking about the next appointment or treatment decision. They are also thinking about the life they are building alongside their health journey.
That perspective is shaped by realities such as:
▫️ transitioning from pediatric to adult care
▫️pursuing education, careers and relationships alongside treatment
▫️living with decisions whose impact may unfold over many years
The voice of a younger patient is not simply a younger version of the patient’s voice. It brings experiences, priorities and questions that deserve to be heard in their own right.
When we create opportunities to work with young patients rather than simply designing for them, we build systems that are more relevant, more inclusive and better prepared for the future.
Over the past few months, several real-life encounters with young patients and their families have made this conviction incredibly concrete for me:
- Meeting Andrea Ruano during her visit to Saclay this past February. Hearing about her work with the Youth Cancer Council and the European Youth Cancer Network (YARN) was a powerful reminder of why we must champion the Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Coalition (AYA) concept.
- Seeing a growing number of young patients actively stepping up and sharing their realities at PEOF 2026.
- Witnessing the impact of initiatives like the MIB Agents Osteosarcoma Alliance Junior Advisory Board / NextGen Council, and iCAN (International Children’s Advisory Network), which are specifically designed to elevate the voices of pediatric patients themselves.
Creating meaningful space for young patients today is one way we can help shape a healthcare system that serves future generations more effectively.
Where in your corner of the healthcare ecosystem could young patients have a stronger voice today?”
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