Laurie Myers, Global Health Literacy Director, Merck & Co., Inc/MSD, has led Health Literacy Strategy for Merck since 2011, recently expanding her role to have both US and global responsibility. She focuses on the integration of health literacy externally and across divisions at Merck. Key projects include patient labeling, packaging, clinical trials, and patient educa-tion. She has regularly engaged with payers and integrated health systems about health literacy.
Laurie actively participates on several external projects, including the IOM Health Literacy Roundtable; as co-chair of the Harvard Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center Return of Results Group; EMA lay summaries working group; and as part of the Walgreens/Northwestern/Al-liance of Chicago partnership, measuring the impact of the Universal Medication Schedule on patient adherence and health. She is passionate about creating health literacy champions outside of the field itself, and hence speaks at conferences focused in other areas, including adherence, patient engagement and advocacy, market research, DIA (Drug Information Association), and clinical trials, in both the US and Europe.
Laurie joined Merck in 1999 and has worked in market research, marketing communications, pharmacy, and distribution. Before receiving her MBA in Health Care Management at Wharton, she studied psychology at Yale. She lives in Hatboro, PA with her husband of 20 years, 2 daughters, and 2 dogs.
As one example of how a large pharmaceutical company is working to embrace health literacy, please see the following summary from Merck’s annual corporate responsibility report: https://www.merckresponsibility.com/access-to-health/health-literacy-healthcare-disparities/
Contact Laurie at: [email protected]