Opalite Media recently partnered with Harvard Medical School (HMS) Executive Education to produce digital content highlighting stories of patients navigating the healthcare system. This fall, we finalized a short documentary featuring Linnea Olson, a cancer survivor, activist, and strong advocate for patient-centric reform to clinical trials. The Executive Education program at HMS is one of the only programs of its kind, helping companies whose work impacts healthcare understand the real-world practice of medicine. This video was created to connect business executives to a unique patient story in a compelling and visceral way.
This video highlights Olson’s journey in discovering that she had lung cancer after multiple misdiagnosis, battling chemotherapy, and navigating a challenging and complex clinical trial system. The story focuses on her efforts to improve clinical trials through more patient-centric and responsive policies. Although clinical trials helped save her life, she was burdened by substantial costs, unnecessary scans, and data collection efforts not related to her treatment. Through a partnership with her physician, Olson was able to change the scanning protocol at the hospital and modify clinical trial procedures. She is now a well-known activist for patients’ rights and runs a popular blog and online community for lung cancer patients.
We worked with HMS to design a production that could meet multiple goals, including developing video content to supplement virtual education programs, as well as promotional media to reach current and prospective program participants. Through immersive storytelling, HMS is using digital content to uplift patient voices and reach their audiences in compelling ways.