Ensuring Patient Safety in Clinical Trials and Medical Practice | Stacy Hurt

Join us for a powerful conversation with Stacy Hurt as we dive into what patient safety really means in clinical trials and everyday medical practice.

Stacy is Chief Patient Officer at Parexel, where she leads efforts to embed the patient voice across clinical research and drug development. A patient, survivor, and caregiver herself, Stacy brings both professional expertise and lived experience to her work—advocating for more inclusive, patient‑centred trials and meaningful engagement throughout the research journey. She is a widely respected leader and speaker dedicated to improving how research is designed, conducted, and experienced by patients worldwide.

In this episode, Stacy draws on both her professional expertise and deeply personal experiences as a patient and caregiver to help us unpack patient safety: what it is; why it’s so poorly understood; and how fear, blame, and broken feedback loops stop patients and clinicians from reporting what’s really happening.

Note: The example Clarinda shared about a patient on psychiatric medication was inspired by a LinkedIn post from a Patient Safety Expert

Chapters:

• 0:00 - Introductions and episode overview
• 1:07 - Stacy’s story - diagnostic and surgical errors
• 5:26 - Defining patient safety and adverse events
• 11:38 - Barriers to reporting adverse events
• 14:15 - Patient safety in the drug development process
• 17:11 - Patient involvement to improve trial safety
• 20:40 - Patient safety monitoring in medical practice
• 25:57 - Adverse event reporting by pharmaceutical companies
• 29:28 - Collaborating to improve patient safety
• 33:19 - Informed consent and patient education materials
• 36:59 - Empowering patients to report symptoms and side effects
• 42:36 - A call to action
• 49:19 - Stacy's long-term dream for patient safety
• 52:41 - Reflections with Caitlin and Clarinda

Resources and abbreviations:

• SIDM -  Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (no longer functional)
• 21st Century Cures Act
• AMA – American Medical Association
• ICU - Intensive Care Unit
• GLP‑1 - Glucagon‑Like Peptide‑1 (therapies often used for weight loss)
• CRO - Contract Research Organisation
• APAC - Asia‑Pacific region
• HTA - Health Technology Assessment
• PROMS - Patient‑Reported Outcome Measures
• PREMS - Patient‑Reported Experience Measures
• HCPs - Healthcare professionals
• EUPATI - European Patients Academy on Therapeutic Innovation
• Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute
• Scripps Research Digital Trials Center
• MHRA -  Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
• MHRA Yellow Card Scheme

Have feedback or suggestions for us? We'd love to hear from you!
Website: notjustpatients.com
LinkedIn: Not Just Patients
Email: info@notjustpatients.com