Shaping how organizations, innovations, and issues are understood

Health care organizations have more data than at any point in history. Claims data, electronic health records, patient-reported outcomes, and real-world evidence have transformed our ability to understand what happens within the health care system. Yet patients continue to delay diagnosis, abandon treatment, and disengage care for reasons that often remain invisible. The challenge isn't a lack of data; it's understanding what happens outside the health care system, before a patient ever enters care or after they quietly fall out of it.

That challenge was the focus of the 2026 Reservoir Advocacy and Alliance Network (RAAN) annual convening, where Reservoir’s network of experts and strategic partners explored emerging approaches to advancing patient access. The RAAN brings diverse perspectives and thoughtful insight to some of today's most pressing health challenges, while providing strategic counsel that supports Reservoir's commitment to reducing health disparities and expanding opportunities for better health.

This year’s conversation reinforced that barriers to health care access extend far beyond affordability. Participants noted that while claims and utilization data can show what blocked access, understanding the reason why requires a deeper dive into patients’ lived experiences including trust, stigma, cultural factors, health literacy, and competing responsibilities.  

Uncovering The “Why” in Patients’ Experiences

The discussion featured Patient Access Pathways, a tool that addresses the “why.”  Patient Access Pathways is Reservoir's proprietary survey and analytics methodology for uncovering access and affordability barriers from the patient's point of view. It uncovers complex and often invisible barriers that influence whether people seek screening, enter care, start treatment, and remain engaged throughout their care journey.  

RAAN members pointed to Patient Access Pathways’ ability to change the way they view barriers to patient care, which for many is primarily through a financial lens. One member pointed to the fact that “it is easier to define issues of cost [and] issues of physical access than it is to think about things like emotional, cultural and logistical barriers.” But uncovering those less apparent barriers can shed critical insights into the patient journey.

Going Deeper to Improve Patient Access

RAAN members also emphasized the importance of understanding whether patients have access to health information, as well as what factors motivate them to act on it. Exploring patient perspectives and beliefs can better inform why some individuals do not seek care even when they have perceived access. To this point, members of the RAAN highlighted the value of trusted health messengers and adequate health literacy education to connect with populations that are not effectively served by broader campaigns and messaging.  

The discussion also raised the importance of examining access through specific patient populations. For example, people who are uninsured, underinsured, enrolled in Medicaid, or covered through an employer may encounter very different challenges. RAAN members raised prior authorization as one specific example: even after successfully reaching a provider and receiving a diagnosis and prescription, patients may face complicated approval processes and may not know how to challenge a denial or request an exception. Taking the holistic patient experience into consideration helps inform solutions for populations that often face the greatest barriers to care, including people living with rare diseases, marginalized patient communities, veterans, and individuals with disabilities.

This year’s RAAN convening demonstrated that health care access is not defined by a single barrier or moment in the patient journey. Understanding why gaps in care persist requires looking at patients’ lived experiences alongside traditional health care data.

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