S5 SPECIAL 1 - Reviewing EASL Congress: Mike Betel

Surfing the MASH Tsunami

This week, Surfing the MASH Tsunami looks back on interviews Roger Green conducted during the EASL Congress itself. This conversation with Fatty Liver Alliance Founder and CEO Mike Betel took place Wednesday of Congress week, a day for special sections and industry presentations, but one day before the General Session opened.
The first part of the conversation centered on the Patient Advocate session that Mike chaired with Shira Zelber-Sagi. (This is the focus of Season 5 Episode 23.) The goal of this session was to discuss barriers to addressing unmet needs in a clinical setting and explore potential solutions. He listed the speakers and their topics, and then went straight to his key takeaway: patients around the world are having challenges getting personal attention and time from their treaters. He mentions one panelist who once told a doctor, "I know you're listening but you're not hearing me." The conversation also touched on stigma and how it comes into these discussions.
The rest of this interview touched briefly on the Opening Session and a couple of industry-sponsored sessions Mike attended. His final point was to emphasize the exceptional opportunities for networking at an event like this one.