Merck Sharp & Dohme I.A. LLC, known as MSD in the Philippines, won two awards for its pioneering patient-centered platform geared towards improving access in the continuum of care for cancer patients and their families.
MSD’s Hope from Within (HFW) program was recognized as the Patient Advocacy Program of the Year – Philippines and the Digital Innovation of the Year – Philippines at the recently concluded Healthcare Asia Pharma Awards 2020.
Hope from Within is an advocacy program that aims to raise awareness and strengthen the fight against cancer through education about early testing, navigating through the cancer journey, and promoting access to innovative treatment options such as Immunotherapy.
MSD’s multisectoral collaboration enabled meaningful discussions to support crucial policy developments in the healthcare sector. For instance, from 2018 to 2019, Hope From Within organized three media fora and one multi-stakeholder patient summit to support patient groups that advocated for the enactment of Republic Act 11215, also known as the National Integrated Cancer Control Act of 2019 (NICCA).
Hope From Within also helped ease the navigation of each patients’ cancer journey by partnering with the Philippine Society of Medical Oncology (PSMO) to incorporate a “Find a Doctor” button in a microsite. With sustained public interest in the initiative, the site soon drew 32,000 unique page visits.
HFW has leveraged on the power of digital as a platform to empower the cancer patients and relevant stakeholders by leading and facilitating conversations of hope that will strengthen their fight against cancer.
In less than two years, Hope From Within’s Facebook page also achieved an impressive reach of 10 million unique users while accumulating a notable 678,000 engagements. The page drove sustained public interest in improving access to care for cancer patients. This translated to “Call to Actions” with 32,000 Unique Page Visits to the Hope From Within Microsite and Clinic Finder.
In 2020, Hope From Within is strengthening its partnership with medical societies. HFW is supporting PSMO’s campaign to push for the next steps in the implementation of NICCA, and their cancer education initiatives through webinars. Another landmark partnership is formed with the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists (SGOP) to collaborate on further raising awareness through lay fora videos that will be posted on HFW Facebook and the medical society’s platforms.
