On the latest episode of The Scope with Dr. K, Dr. Lawrence Kosinski and his guest, Jen Horonjeff, discuss her work as Founder and CEO of Savvy Cooperative, the first and only patient-owned public benefit co-op.

Savvy creates a marketplace to empower people to use their patient experiences to improve health innovations. Horonjeff herself was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis as an infant, lives with several other autoimmune conditions, and had a brain tumor removed nearly a decade ago. She is a chronic illness patient by birth, a PhD by training, and an entrepreneur by necessity.

“My lens has always been in healthcare, but from the patient perspective – it’s what motivated me to go into healthcare. Like many sick kids who get exposed to living in hospitals, they want to see what they can do to effect change.”

The podcast, which airs on HealthcareNOW Radio, highlights some of Horonjeff’s innovative and creative ways of delivering her message to the healthcare world (puppet shows and speaking at a major conference dressed in a hospital gown among them), and explores her goals for the future as a human factors engineer.

“I’m trying to figure out how to fit the world to the human, instead of the other way around – and telling someone ‘Good luck!’ and just hoping something works for them.”