Tania Small, SVP, Head of Medical Affairs at Bristol Myers Squibb, shared on LinkedIn:
“Why isn’t this in the protocol?
Cancer does not grow in isolation.
The medicine matters. The biology surrounding the tumor matters. And the life surrounding the patient matters.
If we want to deliver whole-person care, we need whole-person evidence.
In my conversation with Chris Boerner, CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb and PhRMA Board Chair-elect, he made the challenge clear:
- Build behavioral factors into clinical trials.
- Put them in the protocol.
- Collect the data.
- Show the connection.
- Then act on what we learn.
Whole-person care is a phrase we use easily. Whole-person evidence is the harder commitment, because it means redesigning the protocol, not just the bedside conversation.
Whole-person care requires a whole-industry commitment. And it begins by putting the whole person in the protocol.”