DIGITAL HEALTH Alignment & Patient Experience (PX) Strategy Consulting
About Empower Health Strategies
Led by Meredith Mangold, CPXP—Certified Patient Experience Professional, strategist, and advocate with lived patient expertise—Empower Health Strategies specializes in helping healthcare innovators align their solutions with real-world patient pain points, sharpen their care continuum positioning, strengthen their value proposition, and drive lasting impact for patients and you.
Meredith's Patient Journey
Hi, I'm Meredith. I'd love to tell you how Empower Health Strategies was born.
I was unexpectedly thrown into the deep end of our healthcare system at 20 years old. One day I was in my university's library basement —my head buried in Arabic flashcards—studying for my upcoming exams. Days later, I was in the ICU, my head buried in an itchy hospital pillow—consumed by pain, fear, and the sense that I wouldn’t be taking my midterms next week. I didn’t realize that my long-prepared for career path in Arabic and international affairs was about to make a 180.
The Diagnosis That Changed Everything
I was diagnosed with severe ulcerative colitis, a chronic autoimmune disease, and spent two months in the hospital. That crash course in the dynamics of our healthcare system was just the beginning of an overwhelming new reality: managing multiple chronic conditions, undergoing major surgeries, and, frankly, just surviving each day. Chronic illness has a way of rewriting even the most carefully mapped out plans.
Learning to Speak Patient
Still, that foundation in language and communication stuck with me. I just had to apply it somewhere new. Over time, I learned to speak two more languages: the lived reality of being a patient, and the clinical and operational language of healthcare delivery.
Since my first diagnosis, I’ve spent over 15 years learning how to self-advocate and fight for the care I need in a system that often makes it far too hard, especially for those living with chronic conditions and in marginalized or medically underserved communities. I’ve felt the frustration of being dismissed and the relief when someone finally listens. I’ve experienced the inefficiencies and gaps in care, but also the smallest moments of human connection that make all the difference.
Why I Founded Empower Health Strategies
That patient perspective—along with my professional experience across medical practices, hospitals, advocacy organizations, and digital health—guides the way I approach problem-solving and partner with innovators. It’s also why I care so deeply about helping them speak patient and understand what it’s really like to be the patient on the other side of their innovation. Empowering innovators to empower patients.
Patients encounter and endure much more than what shows up in the data. Let’s work together to create innovations that show patients you really get it by giving them the care, clarity, and support they're missing.
Professional & Advisory Work
Certifications & Training
Empower Health Strategies
Founder & CEO
BiteLabs HealthTech & AI Accelerator
Faculty
Gali Health
Digital Health Lead Patient Advocate (former)
One Medical
Primary Care Patient Advocate (former)
Virginia Hospital Center
C-Suite Administrative Staff (former)
Certified Patient Experience Professional
Beryl Institute
Certified Patient Leader
Health Union - Social Health Network
Additional Training
Digital Medicine Society
Additional Training
Nat'l Patient Advocate Foundation
Speaking & Advocacy
Memberships & Affiliations
Johns Hopkins Medicine
Grand Rounds Speaker + Medical Student Advisor
Chronic Pain Project
Board Member
Crohn's & Colitis Foundation
Volunteer
MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
Child Life Program Volunteer (former)
Chronic Boss Collective
Founding Member
Int'l Society for Patient Engagement Professionals
Member
Health Tech Nerds
Member
Digital Medicine Society
Member