Episode 1
Addressing Health Equity with GSK's Sri Ramaswami: Salathiel's Inspiring Lupus Battle
In this episode of Frictionless Marketing, host Paul Dyer sits down with Sri Ramaswami, Vice President of US Pharmaceuticals Communications for GSK, to discuss the challenges faced by individuals with chronic illnesses, particularly lupus.
The conversation centers around the moving story of Salathiel, a young woman diagnosed with lupus right after her high school graduation. Sri emphasizes the systemic barriers in healthcare, especially those affecting marginalized communities, and outlines GSK's initiatives to promote health equity, reduce negative social determinants of health, and improve access to quality care.
Sri shares insights into the power of storytelling in creating empathy and driving change and offers valuable advice on remaining adaptable while staying true to one's values in a rapidly evolving industry.
00:00 Introduction to Frictionless Marketing
00:05 A Heartfelt Story of Salathiel's Battle with Lupus
00:54 Sri Ramaswami's Keynote Highlights
02:58 Challenges Faced by Lupus Patients
03:52 Understanding Lupus: Symptoms and Diagnosis
05:31 Systemic Barriers and Health Disparities
06:15 GSK's Initiatives for Health Equity
08:06 Three Pillar Approach to Reducing Barriers
10:09 Advice for Aspiring Professionals
14:07 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Frictionless Marketing is a production from /prompt, the leading earned first creative marketing and communications agency. Grounded in the present, yet attuned to the future.
To learn more about how to make marketing frictionless, purchase Friction Fatigue by /prompt CEO Paul Dyer, online and at booksellers worldwide.
Produced and distributed by Simpler Media Productions.
Transcript
Welcome to Frictionless Marketing, where we explore the latest
Speaker:trends and challenges in the world of marketing and beyond.
Speaker:Today's episode brings you a deeply moving and powerful story that sheds light
Speaker:on the struggles faced by those living with chronic illnesses and the systemic
Speaker:barriers in our healthcare system.
Speaker:Our host, Paul Dyer, CEO of /prompt, sits down with Sri Ramaswami,
Speaker:Vice President and Head of US Pharmaceuticals Communications for GSK.
Speaker:Sri shares the heartbreaking yet inspiring journey of Salathiel, a
Speaker:young woman diagnosed with lupus right after her high school graduation.
Speaker:From battling severe health issues and financial burdens to confronting
Speaker:the limitations of rural healthcare, Salathiel's story is a poignant
Speaker:reminder of the urgent need for health equity and systemic change.
Speaker:Stay tuned as we dive into the challenges and initiatives aimed at bridging
Speaker:these gaps and making healthcare more accessible and compassionate for everyone.
Speaker:Live from Fierce Pharma PR and Comm Summit East.
Speaker:Sri, welcome to the show.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:For those who were not able to be here today, didn't get a chance to hear
Speaker:your keynote at the Fierce Pharma PR and Communications Summit, it was a
Speaker:really powerful testimony to the impact you're having at GSK, which started
Speaker:out with Salathiel's personal story.
Speaker:Do you wanna maybe give our listeners a small overview of
Speaker:the story you shared today?
Speaker:Absolutely, Paul.
Speaker:Thank you again for having me on the podcast.
Speaker:I'm really honored to be able to share Salathiel's story
Speaker:because it's so compelling.
Speaker:She was diagnosed with lupus as a teenager and faced many of the same challenges
Speaker:that others must deal with every day.
Speaker:She turned her journey into a crusade and her goal is to inspire others to action.
Speaker:It was a very inspirational story.
Speaker:Talk to us a little bit more about the impact this story's had on
Speaker:your outlook or approach from a communications function perspective.
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:Salathiel's story absolutely demonstrates the power of storytelling.
Speaker:I think a lot of people may be able to relate to her journey.
Speaker:When we can make those connections, the empathy that follows can open eyes,
Speaker:elevate awareness, and change behaviors.
Speaker:Salathiel's story reinforces the kinds of stories we should be sharing.
Speaker:Stories that are authentic and moving.
Speaker:You started with her path to diagnosis, then you fast forwarded twenty years,
Speaker:and you talked about how Salathiel's health has evolved, how some of the
Speaker:challenges she faces today are different.
Speaker:I think you referred to her today as a warrior.
Speaker:What have you or GSK learned from this?
Speaker:Today, she still faces the waxing and waning of the disease, Paul.
Speaker:Some days she feels good and some days she doesn't.
Speaker:Because she's sharing her story broadly, she has built a network of support.
Speaker:The reality is many lupus patients continue learning about their disease
Speaker:throughout their lifetime because new symptoms may surface years later.
Speaker:There is no consistency, so having conversations and resources of the ready
Speaker:makes it a little easier to move forward.
Speaker:Well, can you talk about some of maybe the specific difficulties
Speaker:she or someone like her encounters?
Speaker:Particularly living in a rural area with limited access to specialized care?
Speaker:It could be a limited number of medical specialists.
Speaker:For some, clinical trials may be the only access to care that they have.
Speaker:But clinical trials are often hosted at large academic
Speaker:centers, often in big cities.
Speaker:It could be technology.
Speaker:If they don't have stable wifi, then even telehealth options may not be possible.
Speaker:It may even be that there aren't as many retail pharmacies which
Speaker:carry the medicines that they need.
Speaker:Awareness could be an obstacle because there may not be as much
Speaker:opportunity to expand knowledge.
Speaker:This could be because nonprofit organizations don't have a presence.
Speaker:Educational campaigns may not reach them.
Speaker:Major events like health fairs are not likely to be organized there.
Speaker:Now Sri, I'm just realizing it could be that there's a lot of people listening
Speaker:that don't know exactly what lupus is, or maybe they've heard of it, but
Speaker:they're not really familiar with why it's so difficult to diagnose or why it's
Speaker:such a unique and burdensome disease.
Speaker:Can you talk a little bit about that for people who may not be familiar with lupus?
Speaker:I'm glad you asked the question.
Speaker:Lupus is difficult to diagnose because this chronic disease exhibits a wide
Speaker:variety of symptoms that resemble other diseases and other conditions.
Speaker:It presents differently in different people.
Speaker:It's an autoimmune disease, so your body is attacking itself and can cause damage
Speaker:to cells, tissues, organs, or systems.
Speaker:This also can happen at any time, which is frightening.
Speaker:The symptoms could be sporadic, or years later you may develop a new symptom.
Speaker:According to the Lupus Foundation of America, the average time to
Speaker:a lupus diagnosis is six years.
Speaker:But for women of color, that time can take much longer.
Speaker:Think about that.
Speaker:Yeah, in your story from Salathiel, it sounds like she was diagnosed
Speaker:very quickly, but it was a very painful process regardless.
Speaker:Can you talk about maybe what are some of the symptoms or
Speaker:complications associated with lupus that patients like Salathiel endure?
Speaker:It is complex, Paul.
Speaker:Patients cope with strokes, increased risks of heart attacks along with
Speaker:fatigue, joint pain, chest pain, skin lesions, even memory loss.
Speaker:One of your main points today was that the health system was not
Speaker:serving Salathiel or people like her.
Speaker:And you made a point of referring to her as, I'm not gonna call her a
Speaker:patient, I'm gonna call her a person.
Speaker:Can you maybe talk a little bit about the, what are the issues and gaps in care
Speaker:that would contribute to her struggles or struggles of other lupus patients?
Speaker:When we think of systemic issues, we think about policy that needs to
Speaker:change and biased practice standards that lead to health disparities.
Speaker:The result of this is people of color have a much longer window to diagnosis
Speaker:and then suboptimal treatment.
Speaker:We know the impact of this.
Speaker:Black women with lupus, regrettably, die up to thirteen years earlier
Speaker:than white women with lupus.
Speaker:I don't think I heard that number earlier.
Speaker:That is shocking.
Speaker:It certainly is.
Speaker:So what, from an action standpoint, as communicators, of course, we have
Speaker:to draw awareness to these things.
Speaker:It's also on us to try to spur action.
Speaker:So what initiatives is GSK investing in to help address these
Speaker:issues, address the prevention or complications of a disease like lupus?
Speaker:As I said before and at my talk, we need to meet people where they
Speaker:are so we can build connections.
Speaker:We've teamed up with the National Basketball Retired Players
Speaker:Association and the Houston Rockets for the last two seasons.
Speaker:We knew we could get in front of a lot of people who may not normally attend
Speaker:a health fair by doing this, and we could give them information about
Speaker:lupus, talk to them about the risks, the symptoms, even the challenges.
Speaker:We heard from three people who went to their doctors right after these
Speaker:events and were diagnosed with lupus.
Speaker:And this may sound like a small number, but in the scheme of the disease
Speaker:and the number of people who get the disease, it's pretty significant.
Speaker:And so we know that the message is resonating.
Speaker:That's great.
Speaker:I mean, that's a real example of improving public health.
Speaker:What about access to quality care, especially in these rural areas?
Speaker:Are there things you're doing at GSK to help increase access to quality care?
Speaker:Or maybe in some ways improve the negative social determinants
Speaker:of health, which is another big theme in your conversation today?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I did talk about access and about addressing negative social
Speaker:determinants of health and also about reducing systemic barriers.
Speaker:We are pushing to expand the capabilities of staff like nurses,
Speaker:pharmacists, and social workers because they're accessible to more than
Speaker:doctors, to more people than doctors.
Speaker:Some may not know, but in the healthcare system, the social worker's
Speaker:whole job is to remove barriers to wellness and barriers to care.
Speaker:We're also leveraging data to identify areas with
Speaker:concentrated health disparities.
Speaker:This gives us an opportunity to have meaningful impact.
Speaker:And you also, you talked about a three pillar approach at GSK.
Speaker:Can you talk about the three pillar approach and your efforts
Speaker:to reduce systemic barriers?
Speaker:Absolutely.
Speaker:Some of the barriers have been around for decades, so we know we
Speaker:needed this multi-pronged approach to focus on the root causes.
Speaker:Our first pillar is addressing the negative social determinants of health.
Speaker:We want to look at the different factors that can prevent someone
Speaker:from getting medical care.
Speaker:Is it transportation?
Speaker:Is it access to doctors, limited disease awareness, not understanding the risks?
Speaker:The second pillar is access to quality care.
Speaker:Is a person able to get to a healthcare professional, and
Speaker:how knowledgeable is that HCP?
Speaker:We have a team working with HCPs to close knowledge gaps in disease
Speaker:states or cultural competencies.
Speaker:Our third pillar is addressing systemic barriers such as racism or discrimination.
Speaker:Is the person facing a bias in their treatment?
Speaker:Thank you for walking through that.
Speaker:I know this next question is kind of loaded but in your view, how can our
Speaker:listeners support health equity and help contribute to this vision of
Speaker:a more equitable healthcare system?
Speaker:It's a great question, Paul.
Speaker:I would say be open to conversations.
Speaker:It's all about learning and it's about listening.
Speaker:One of our efforts involved hosting an innovation challenge at a
Speaker:Hispanic Serving Institution or HSI.
Speaker:The students at Florida International University learned about vaccinations
Speaker:and then gave a presentation on how to educate their communities.
Speaker:What we saw was many of the students learned about the power
Speaker:of prevention for the first time.
Speaker:They then went and spoke to their families as part of their
Speaker:research, and those conversations opened up even more conversations.
Speaker:That's what we wanna see.
Speaker:So Sri, first of all, this has been great.
Speaker:I really appreciate you laying this out for our listeners, folks who
Speaker:weren't able to be here, what was a tremendous conference, and you
Speaker:being the keynote presentation.
Speaker:I'm gonna wrap with two questions, okay?
Speaker:So the first is we're gonna ask big picture in just a second.
Speaker:If you're gonna give your past self some advice, what would that advice be?
Speaker:But first, let's wrap up our keynote here.
Speaker:So what do you think is either the most important takeaway, or just the
Speaker:thing that if someone was gonna take away one point that you would want
Speaker:to emphasize what would that be?
Speaker:I think, as I mentioned during my keynote, people can't be what they can't see.
Speaker:And therefore, it's so important that if you want to effectuate change in
Speaker:the community and make health equity real and relevant and impactful,
Speaker:you have to go into the community and meet people where they are.
Speaker:I think that's so critical.
Speaker:I think also from what you saw today, not just in my speech, but
Speaker:also the panel discussion, I think it takes a village to do this.
Speaker:No one can solve the problems of health equity on their own.
Speaker:I think it's really important for us to collaborate, to ideate, to
Speaker:try new things, and yeah, we're not always gonna get it right.
Speaker:We may fail sometimes.
Speaker:But what do we learn from those failings and those failures that we
Speaker:can apply toward a more equitable world where everyone can thrive?
Speaker:I think that's all really powerful and that you can't be what you can't see.
Speaker:Just it touches on so many levels.
Speaker:This idea of going into the communities, it's really important
Speaker:as a takeaway as more and more and more of our work becomes digitized.
Speaker:And we live primarily in our industry, in urban centers.
Speaker:We start to look at the world through a screen.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:Correct.
Speaker:What you're saying is you gotta see the people.
Speaker:And see them in their environment.
Speaker:Exactly.
Speaker:I think that's just a really powerful reminder.
Speaker:So thank you.
Speaker:And now, alright, so the doozy.
Speaker:We're getting away from keynote now.
Speaker:[Sri chuckling] But as I'd mentioned, walking through your introduction.
Speaker:You obviously have had a very successful career.
Speaker:You're in a position of great influence within our industry.
Speaker:A lot of people listening would probably aspire to a career like yours.
Speaker:So, if you were gonna give your past self one piece of advice, what would you say?
Speaker:When I think about the most important role that, or advice I can give perhaps
Speaker:to people based on my own past, I would say it reminds me of the quote
Speaker:from Goethe who said, "we must always change, renew, and rejuvenate ourselves.
Speaker:Otherwise we harden."
Speaker:It's important in an industry like ours, frankly in life, change
Speaker:is an inevitable part of life.
Speaker:And I once saw a very impactful and strong piece of writing that
Speaker:said, "We believe in change, but not in changing what we believe."
Speaker:And the reason why that is so important to me, and if I could perhaps go back
Speaker:to my younger self or my past self, why those words are so important is
Speaker:because when you realize that change is an inevitable part of life, but that
Speaker:you are uncompromising in your values, then you're able to drive real change.
Speaker:I look at it even through the health equity lens.
Speaker:I don't, in fact, think that it is different from everyday life in the
Speaker:sense that we are at an inflection point in healthcare and other things where we
Speaker:know that we can't leave people behind.
Speaker:The risk of doing that, the opportunity cost of doing that is high.
Speaker:So the industry's gonna constantly change.
Speaker:Medicines are gonna change.
Speaker:Innovations are gonna change.
Speaker:New things will come into the market.
Speaker:Other things will go.
Speaker:The question is how do you ride that wave of change without
Speaker:compromising your values?
Speaker:Well, and that, especially at a time of tremendous change.
Speaker:Correct.
Speaker:Which I would argue, throughout my whole career people have talked
Speaker:about every year is a time of change.
Speaker:But not like this.
Speaker:Exactly.
Speaker:After the pandemic, with all of the social change going on, the
Speaker:technological change, this is really good advice, remaining centered.
Speaker:But not getting stuck.
Speaker:Correct.
Speaker:Right, that idea of not hardening.
Speaker:Well, said.
Speaker:That's really, really great.
Speaker:So, thank you, Sri, for sharing Salathiel's story and for some of
Speaker:your own story, and also just for the vital work that you're leading at
Speaker:GSK to address some of these issues.
Speaker:It's been a great conversation.
Speaker:It was very well received today.
Speaker:And I know that our listeners are gonna be thrilled to hear it.
Speaker:So thank you.
Speaker:And for our listeners, thank you for tuning in to this episode
Speaker:of Frictionless Marketing.
Speaker:Remember, as Sri has reminded us all, we all have a role to play in creating
Speaker:more equitable healthcare system.
Speaker:So until next time, stay engaged, listening, open, changing but not
Speaker:hardening, and be back with you soon.
Speaker:Thanks Sri.
Speaker:Thank you, Paul.
Speaker:Thank you so much for your time.
Speaker:Thank you for listening to this episode of the Frictionless Marketing Podcast.
Speaker:For a complete transcript of this conversation or more information on
Speaker:/prompt, please visit us at meetprompt.co.
Speaker:If you found this episode insightful, share it with
Speaker:your connections on LinkedIn.
Speaker:To learn more about how to make marketing frictionless, purchase Friction
Speaker:Fatigue by /prompt CEO Paul Dyer, online and at booksellers worldwide.
Speaker:Frictionless Marketing is a production from /prompt, the
Speaker:leading earned first creative marketing and communications agency.
Speaker:Grounded in the present, yet attuned to the future.
Speaker:Produced and distributed by Simpler Media Productions.
