“Open source software” is created and improved collaboratively, over the web, by the people who need it, even if they work for different companies in different industries on different continents. Similar to our Openness Philosophy, the premise behind open source software is that none of us is as smart as all of us. Software developers… Continue reading We Share Too! Contributing Open Source Code
Category: Patient Experiences
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
Introducing: Voices of Fibromyalgia
You raised your voice, we listened. Today we launch our newest community: Fibromyalgia. This is the first in our special blog series, Voices of Fibromyalgia. The impact of the disease on people’s lives can be enormous. People often have difficulty completing even the easiest of tasks during the painful episodes, while the fatigue can also… Continue reading Introducing: Voices of Fibromyalgia
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
PatientsLikeMe Report: MS Patients Still Positive for Tysabri Following July Announcement of PML Cases
PatientsLikeMe recently released a new PatientsLikeMeListen™ report: “Did the July 2008 PML announcement affect the Tysabri brand?” Among our findings, the report reveals that MS patients retained an overall positive perception of the Tysabri brand despite the July 2008 announcement of two additional PML cases. When we originally covered this topic back in August, the… Continue reading PatientsLikeMe Report: MS Patients Still Positive for Tysabri Following July Announcement of PML Cases
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?
Health 2.0: Where do we go from here?
A few nights ago, I was honored to give a keynote at the second Health 2.0 Northeast conference held right here in our Cambridge, MA backyard. It’s exciting to see old friends and new emerging start-ups coming together to try and make a dent in the $2 trillion industry that is healthcare in the U.S. … Continue reading Health 2.0: Where do we go from here?
Ben Heywood, PatientsLikeMe Wins Boston Business Journal’s “Champions in Healthcare” Award
Last Friday (September 26, 2008), our Co-founder and President, Ben Heywood, was honored at the Boston Business Journal “Champions in Healthcare” award ceremony. Ben was one of two recipients recognized in the Innovation category. These regional awards highlight outstanding individuals and companies from the Boston-area who are making a difference in healthcare, including winners across… Continue reading Ben Heywood, PatientsLikeMe Wins Boston Business Journal’s “Champions in Healthcare” Award
How representative are PatientsLikeMe patients to the general population?
Mimi Yin over at The Common Data Project blog posed some interesting questions about data in our communities: Back in April, I wrote about the site PatientsLikeMe.com, which provides a wonderful new service that allows individual users to share the most intimate details of their medical conditions and treatments, which in turn creates a pool… Continue reading How representative are PatientsLikeMe patients to the general population?