Patients are the only why in healthcare. As the ultimate consumers of health-related products and services, patients should be at the center of decision-making for every relevant stakeholder: industry, healthcare professional, provider, payer, or otherwise. Through the Business Ethics for APEC SMEs Initiative, patients and patient organizations serve a central role in the effective implementation of the APEC Principles and serve as vital members of consensus framework agreements for ethical collaboration within many APEC economies.

Patients serve an important role in advocating for ethics and business integrity across health systems. This has never been clearer amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. SMEs in the medical device and biopharmaceutical sector, as well as governments and health care professionals, are especially attuned to the importance of patients in the day-to-day decisions that they make.

Resources for Patient and Patient Organizations:

• IFPMA Note for Guidance on Patient and Patient Organization Interactions
• Draft Patient Action Plan for Vision 2025
• 2020 Statement by Patients and Patient Organizations on Reinforcing Ethics and Business Integrity in Healthcare
• Statement by Patients and Patient Organizations on Reinforcing Ethics and Business Integrity in Healthcare and Enforcing APEC’s Vision 2025
• Patient Organization Activities