DR. DARA RICHARDSON-HERON
Pfizer, Inc.
DR. DARA RICHARDSON-HERON likes to say that she’s a physician by trade and an advocate by choice. As Pfizer’s new Chief Patient Officer, she’s working to ensure that the patient is at the center of everything Pfizer does. Her patient-centric approach has been shaped by her years of experience serving in public health.
“It’s really not complicated. A patient centric interaction should look like one where I as the doctor, or I as the researcher, am meeting with and hearing from patients,” said Dr. Richardson-Heron. “And instead of making decisions about what I think is best for them, I’m talking to patients about where their preferences lie and which options work for them.”
From the outset of her medical career, Dr. Richardson-Heron knew she wanted to make an impact beyond what could be achieved in a typical medical practice. She was provided with many formative moments during her training with valuable experiences and incredible exposure at New York University Medical School and Bellevue Hospital.
“It was there where I saw many patients who, through no fault of their own, presented with late-stage diseases,” noted Dr. Richardson-Heron. “Among other things, my experiences as a young physician opened my eyes to the reality that health disparities are real and access to health care was not a given.” She says it was those early days as a doctor that have made an indelible mark in her passion for putting patients first.
