Structuring and Presenting the Patients’ Perspective at AMIA

PatientsLikeMe members share health data on the site adding their own individual-level health experience to a repository of structured outcome data. The result? An unprecedented data set that informs medical conversation not only within the patient community but also with the larger scientific one. Earlier this fall, the venue for this conversation was the annual… Continue reading Structuring and Presenting the Patients’ Perspective at AMIA

Voices of Fibromyalgia: Q&A with Minnie Lee

PatientsLikeMe’s David S. Williams sits down with well-known blogger, triathlete and fibromyalgia patient, Minnie Lee.   Lee, an early member of our new fibromylagia community which launched this week, has a public profile on the site. *** (David) When were you diagnosed with fibromyalgia and when were your first symptoms? (Minnie) I was diagnosed in late… Continue reading Voices of Fibromyalgia: Q&A with Minnie Lee

CBS Evening News, BusinessWeek, Fibromyalgia: Oh, Just Your Typical Friday

It’s exciting times for PatientsLikeMe! Today, our new community for people with fibromyalgia goes live on our site.  Spread the word!  Let’s bring a new level of understanding to this disease in a way that nobody else can.  Next week: a blog series regarding this new community and the people in it. If you haven’t… Continue reading CBS Evening News, BusinessWeek, Fibromyalgia: Oh, Just Your Typical Friday

World AIDS Day (12/1/08) – Embracing the Positive

  World AIDS Day is a milestone in so many different ways.  It has marked the persistence of HIV and its impact on our world, but we hope that we are approaching a turning point where World AIDS Day will come to mark progress. What this day marks, however, is that being HIV positive doesn’t… Continue reading World AIDS Day (12/1/08) – Embracing the Positive

National Family History Day

PatientsLikeMe believes in the benefits of openly sharing health information.  That is why we are happy to spread the word about National Family History Day, which had its fifth anniversary on Thanksgiving 2008. As families gather this holiday weekend, National Family History Day encourages families to become familiar with the health history of previous generations. … Continue reading National Family History Day

Should You Share Your Health Information Online?

Openness.  Privacy.  These philosophies stand in direct opposition in the question of which is better for consumer health.  Should people be open with their health information or private?  Certainly there are times for both, right? Not according to some privacy advocates.  On October 22, 2008, Deven McGraw from the Center for Democracy and Technology cited… Continue reading Should You Share Your Health Information Online?

Living Positive with PatientsLikeMe (AIDS Walk Chicago)

You’ve spotted us again!  This weekend, PatientsLikeMe was a proud sponsor of the AIDS Walk/Run at Grant Park in Chicago on September 20, 2008.  The event, benefiting the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and 70 other local organizations, brought together more than 7,000 people on this warm, sunny day to show their support in the fight… Continue reading Living Positive with PatientsLikeMe (AIDS Walk Chicago)

PatientsLikeMe sponsors MS Challenge Walk on Cape Cod

PatientsLikeMe was recently one of the sponsors for the 2008 MS Challenge Walk on Cape Cod, a three-day, 50-mile event held on September 5-7, 2008. More than 620 walkers participated, each raising a minimum of $1,500.  Overall the event raised close to $1.4 million to benefit Multiple Sclerosis (MS) education, support, advocacy and research. The… Continue reading PatientsLikeMe sponsors MS Challenge Walk on Cape Cod

PatientsLikeMe and The Power of Peers

Over the weekend, PatientsLikeMe was an exhibitor at the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance’s 2008 National Conference, which took place September 11-14th in Norfolk, Virginia.  The theme was “The Power of Peers.” While I spent most of my time at our sponsor table answering questions about PatientsLikeMe, I overheard other attendees discussing a concept I… Continue reading PatientsLikeMe and The Power of Peers

More Than Meets the Eye: Non-motor Symptoms in Young-onset Parkinson’s Disease

Most people think of Parkinson’s disease (PD) as a condition of aging, and most of the time they’re right. Looking at the population as a whole, about 1-2% of people over the age of 65 have PD, and it’s usually a condition that is most severe in patients in their 70’s and 80’s. However, about… Continue reading More Than Meets the Eye: Non-motor Symptoms in Young-onset Parkinson’s Disease