As a celebration of the Johns Hopkins Patient Guide to Diabetes’ 10-year Anniversary, Dr. Sudi Sarkar interviewed Amy Rohrbaugh, the founder and director of the Frannie Foundation, and Jennifer Fairman, Professor of Art as Applied to Medicine. The Frannie Foundation was established in 2010 to improve the lives of people who have diabetes and diabetes related cardiovascular diseases. As part of its mission the Frannie Foundation generously supports the Johns Hopkins Patient Guide to Diabetes website. Jeni Fairman is the creative designer of the Patient Guide to Diabetes website. This podcast is dedicated to Amy’s mother, Frannie, whose birthday is June 27.
Jeni and Amy shared thoughts on how the site evolved and has grown over the last decade along with thoughts on how impactful the site has been for patients across the globe.
“Patient education is a part of what I do as a medical illustrator that is very important. I know clinicians and other healthcare providers are constantly having to communicate with patients…clear communication, is essential. It is about meeting the patient where they are in their care journey…When we think about effective patient education, it is tailored to that individual’s learning styles and evidence-based, focused on improving health literacy and self-management. As the medical illustrator, what we do is blend that scientific knowledge with artistic precision to communicate complex biological and medical information. Of course, for us, words alone are sometimes never enough. When it comes to accessibility, being able to give patients the right tools depending on their situation, I think that is important to think about those differences with each patient. Every patient is different; every patient’s health is different, so there are different tools that are essential. It goes without saying that my favorite way of communicating is through illustration or animation—that is how I help and I would hope to help clinicians make their job a little bit easier. A picture can really clarify a complex story.”