Alexandria, VA – December 12, 2022 – The Innovation and Value Initiative (IVI), a non-profit research organization committed to advancing the science, practice, and use of value assessment in health care, today announced the addition of three new members to its Board of Directors: Rachel Patterson, MPA, Suzanne Schrandt, JD, and Adam Thompson. Elected at the October 2022 Board meeting, they will begin serving in January 2023 for three-year terms.
“IVI plays a critical role in helping to broaden the perspectives on value assessment and I look forward to leading the IVI Board as we commit to a change process that is inclusive, transparent, and influential to the marketplace,” stated Michael Thompson, IVI’s incoming 2023 Board President and president and CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions (National Alliance). “Our new Board members continue to strengthen and diversify the voices that will shape value assessment in the future.”
Grounded in the principles of patient-centricity, equity, transparency, and innovation, IVI is a leader within the value and health technology assessment community.
“It truly takes all of us – patient organizations, industry, payers, employers, researchers, and individuals – working together to make a difference,” said IVI’s CEO Jason Spangler, MD, MPH, FACPM. “As IVI continues to serve its members and partners, I look forward to the additional value and expertise these advocates and leaders will offer our team.”
I’m honored and excited to be joining the board of the Innovation and Value Initiative. Our society must find a way to align price with the value of health care while protecting the interests of the people who need health care the most. IVI’s patient-centered approach to value assessment is essential to shaping the future of US health care policy.
Rachel is Senior Director of Federal Relations & Policy at the Epilepsy Foundation, where she focuses on health care access and disability rights, including safe and legal access to cannabis for people with epilepsy. She has previously served at Health Management Associates, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, and the Association of University Centers on Disabilities. Rachel has an MPA from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and a BA in Politics from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.
In so many facets of healthcare and research, patients—their lived experience, their wisdom, and their ideas—remain the greatest untapped resource in efforts to innovate. IVI’s commitment to patient-centered value assessment has been and will continue to be an opportunity to leverage the power and promise of patients as partners and leaders meaningfully and authentically. Having witnessed first-hand the immense impact of true co-creation with patients, and the harm that results when patients are excluded from decisions in which they have a rightful role, I am honored to join the Board of IVI, and contribute to this critical body of work.
Suz Schrandt is a patient advocate and patient engagement engineer with a health and disability policy background. She is the Founder and CEO of ExPPect, a patient engagement initiative focused on improving healthcare and research through the expertise and partnership of skilled patients. Schrandt previously served as Director of Patient Engagement at the Arthritis Foundation, and as Deputy Director of Patient Engagement for PCORI. Schrandt serves on the FDA’s Patient Engagement Advisory Committee, the NIH’s National Institutes of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Advisory Committee, and the Geneva Foundation for Military Research’s Scientific Advisory Board. She served as the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine’s Senior Patient Engagement Advisor from 2019-2022, as Chairperson for the International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Global Patient Council from 2020-2022, as chairperson for the ISPOR North American Patient Roundtable from 2017-2019, and was the co-chair of the annual Patients as Partners conference from 2017-2019. Schrandt received her law degree from the University of Kansas and has co-authored multiple peer-reviewed articles on health policy and the value of patient engagement.
With the advent and widespread adoption of value-based care, defining and identifying what is valuable has proven challenging. By centering multiple perspectives from across the healthcare ecosystem, IVI is leading the way in equitably defining and assessing value while also remaining patient-centered. Value, much like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder – engagement with the people and the systems they support is necessary to understand how they see and understand value. I am excited to be supporting IVI’s team and efforts to better unpack and align what is truly valuable for our country and communities.
Adam Thompson is an independent consultant supporting health systems, communities, and patients to improve health outcomes. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Theology from Georgetown University and will graduate in December of 2022 with his Masters in Public Health from Jefferson College of Population Health where he was named the 2022 Public Health Student of the Year. He is currently the Co-Chair of the Primary Care and Chronic Disease Standing Committee for the National Quality Forum where he also serves on the Board of Directors. He is the 2010 recipient of the Leadership in Quality Award from CQII and the HIV/AIDS Bureau. He co-developed several national trainings for Ryan White communities including the Training of Consumers on Quality, the Building Leaders of Color, and ELEVATE & ESCALATE programs. Mr. Thompson is the former Regional Partner Director for the South Jersey AIDS Education and Training Center and brings over 17 years of experience in health care improvement and patient engagement.
The new appointments to the Board will join the following 2023 Board members: Michael Thompson – President (President & CEO, National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions), Mark Cziraky, PharmD – President Elect (President and Co-Founder, HealthCore), Greg Daniel, PhD – Immediate Past President (Head of U.S. Healthcare Policy, Eli Lilly), Patty Fritz, MA – Treasurer and Secretary (Vice President, U.S. Corporate Affairs, UCB ), Alan Balch, PhD (Chief Executive Officer, Patient Advocate Foundation), John Banta, MBA, BS (President, Managing Director, BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners), Harold Carter, PharmD (Vice President, Strategy & Contracting, Express Scripts), Chuck Cutler, MD, MS (President, Cutler Healthcare), Nelly Ganesan, MPH (Executive Director of Community Engagement and Health Equity, JPMorgan Chase & Co. – Morgan Health), Vipan C. Sood, MBA, RPh, MRPharmS (Consultant), Ashley Valentine, MRes (Co-Founder & President, Sick Cells), and Neil Weissman, MD (President, MedStar Health Research Institute).
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About IVI
The Innovation and Value Initiative (IVI) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, non-profit research organization dedicated to advancing the science and improving the practice of value assessment through development of novel methods and the creation and application of enhanced value assessment models to support local decision-making needs in healthcare.
Contact: Tiffany Huth, MPH
Phone: 202.487.8057
E-Mail: tiffany.huth@thevalueinitiative.org