In this episode, Ursula and Christine are joined by Tara Cowling, Founder and President of Medlior Health Outcomes Research—a Canadian leader in real-world evidence (RWE), health technology assessment (HTA), and health outcomes research. Together, they explore how health data can be transformed into actionable insights that improve care, trust, and outcomes for patients.

Tara shares her journey from her early work with NICE in the UK to leading an independent research consultancy in Canada. She explains how better data access and health literacy can prevent missed diagnoses, improve early detection, and strengthen public confidence in healthcare systems.

From data privacy and interoperability to the promise of AI and next-generation patient registries, this conversation unpacks how collaboration between patients, researchers, and decision-makers can shape a smarter, more equitable future for healthcare.

Why You Should Listen

• Discover how data trust and transparency affect patient outcomes.
• Learn what “quality” means in real-world evidence and why transparency and reproducibility matter.
• Understand the role of health literacy and interpretation in how patient data is collected and used.
• Hear how AI and predictive analytics are redefining the future of healthcare data.
• Explore how long-term patient registries and real-world insights can drive policy change and better funding decisions.

Episode Highlights

[00:02:00] Meet Tara Cowling — Founder and President of Medlior Health Outcomes Research shares her journey into data and healthcare innovation.

[00:07:15] When data goes wrong — real stories that show why accessible, linked data can save lives.

[00:10:00] Mental health and data — Tara explains why mental health checkups should be as routine as dental visits.

[00:12:30] Health literacy and trust — how communication and transparency build confidence in data use.

[00:16:00] Defining quality data — what makes research reliable: transparency, reproducibility, and context.

[00:21:00] The promise of AI and real-world evidence — how technology and patient data can drive personalized, equitable care.

[00:22:30] Building the future — Tara’s vision through the Avita Health Foundation for long-term patient registries that shape better health systems.

Want to Share Your Voice?

If you’re a patient or caregiver, you can join Patient Voice Connect to share your experiences and help shape healthcare here.

Join our email list to get new episode updates here.

Together, we can bring more voices to the table and shape the future of healthcare.

Share this episode, leave a review, and follow Patient Voice Partners on LinkedIn to help amplify more voices.

How do you embed patient voices across a complex, research-driven organization—and across a country’s health system? Brigitte Nolet shares how her own journey with psoriatic arthritis shaped her leadership, why Roche Canada created a Chief Patient Experience Officer role held by someone with lived experience, and how collaboration across government, industry, and patient groups can accelerate access to innovative medicines in Canada.

Why you should listen

• A leader’s lived experience guiding decisions that affect millions of patients.
• Practical ways to make patient inclusivity real (beyond town halls and surveys).
• Inside Roche Canada’s Patient Co-Creation Council and what makes it work.
• Why the new Chief Patient Experience Officer role matters—and how it was co-designed with 65+ stakeholders.
• What Canada can learn from Switzerland and Belgium on integrated care and health data.
• A candid look at Canada’s access timelines and the momentum to improve them.
• Actionable takeaways for leaders: listen more, connect more, and don’t anchor in your own beliefs.

Episode highlights (timestamps)

• 00:00 – Welcome & introductions.
• 01:00 – Brigitte’s path: leading Roche Canada and why her psoriatic arthritis shapes how she leads.
• 03:45 – Roche Canada at a glance: ~2,000 employees, end-to-end from research to commercialization.
• 06:00 – Four countries, four systems: what moving internationally taught Brigitte about continuity of care.
• 11:30 – System design that works: a Swiss clinic model with same-visit labs + 30-minute consults; Belgium’s fast health-data platforms.
• 14:00 – Listening as a leadership discipline: the Patient Co-Creation Council and learning from rare-disease communities.
• 19:00 – Creating the Chief Patient Experience Officer role (must include lived experience); how 65+ stakeholders shaped it.
• 22:00 – Momentum beyond industry: Canada’s Drug Agency adding patient voice at the board level.
• 26:00 – Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC): sector snapshot (100k+ jobs, $3.2B annual R&D, $18B economic activity) and the shared goal of faster access.
• 29:30 – The frontier: where biology meets informatics—gene therapies, CAR-T, subcutaneous, oral oncology, AI.
• 31:30 – What’s next: societal perspectives in HTA, interprovincial data interoperability, and cutting red tape.
• 35:00 – Rapid-fire: leadership mantra—“listen more, connect more”—and book recs (Kate Quinn).

Want to Share Your Voice?

If you’re a patient or caregiver, you can join Patient Voice Connect to share your experiences and help shape healthcare here.

Join our email list to get new episode updates here.

Together, we can bring more voices to the table and shape the future of healthcare.

Share this episode, leave a review, and follow Patient Voice Partners on LinkedIn to help amplify more voices.

Welcome to Amplify: Elevating Patient Voices, a podcast powered by Patient Voice Partners. In each episode, hosts Ursula Mann and Brent Korte bring together patients, caregivers, and healthcare change makers to spark bold conversations and build a system that truly listens.

In this episode of Amplify, Ursula and Brent welcome a new member of the Patient Voice Partners team — Izi, a recent graduate bringing fresh energy, digital storytelling skills, and a passion for amplifying underrepresented voices. She shares her journey from student leadership to nonprofit advocacy, what inspires her to pursue work that helps others, and why trust and representation are so vital in healthcare.

Why you should listen

• Discover how fresh perspectives from younger voices can energize teams and open new pathways for impact.
• Learn why trust and representation are key when amplifying patient and caregiver voices.
• Hear how Izi turned student leadership and nonprofit advocacy into a passion for healthcare storytelling.
• Be inspired by her advice on embracing uncertainty, resilience, and learning through failure.

Episode highlights

• [00:01:30] Meet Izi: her background, education, and early leadership experiences.
• [00:03:40] Launching a YouTube channel and leading a team as VP of Video.
• [00:05:00] Lessons from nonprofit work and the power of digital storytelling to build community.
• [00:06:00] Why healthcare — and how personal identity shaped Izi’s passion for advocacy.
• [00:07:30] Building trust and creating safe spaces for patients to share their stories.
• [00:09:45] What Izi looks forward to learning and contributing at Patient Voice Partners.
• [00:10:50] Embracing uncertainty, failure, and resilience as part of the journey.

Want to Share Your Voice?

If you’re a patient or caregiver, you can join Patient Voice Connect to share your experiences and help shape healthcare here.

Join our email list to get new episode updates here.

Together, we can bring more voices to the table and shape the future of healthcare.

Share this episode, leave a review, and follow Patient Voice Partners on LinkedIn to help amplify more voices.