“It just makes sense to give back”: How PatientsLikeMe employees volunteered their time this year

Volunteering is a big part of the culture at PatientsLikeMe. Inspired by PatientsLikeMe members, who have made our online community a place to find support and answers about health, we do our best to give something back to our local community, too. This year, many of our staff members pitched in and gave their time… Continue reading “It just makes sense to give back”: How PatientsLikeMe employees volunteered their time this year

The OpenNotes movement: Your right to read your doctors’ notes

Have you ever seen your doctor’s clinical notes about you? (We’re not talking about your brief ‘after-visit summary,’ but the detailed notes the doctor or other healthcare provider writes later on.) PatientsLikeMe member Liz (thelizarmy) recently talked with us about OpenNotes, a movement to give patients easy access to their providers’ notes – like her 4,000+… Continue reading The OpenNotes movement: Your right to read your doctors’ notes

9 mental health podcasts worth listening to

Podcasts are an easy (and usually free) way to stay on top of what’s new across a wide variety of topics — they’re kind of like internet radio on demand, and usually broken up into episodes that you can download on your computer, device or phone. Below, we rounded up 9 podcasts focused on mental… Continue reading 9 mental health podcasts worth listening to

Lupus flares: Stats and infographics based on the PatientsLikeMe community’s experiences

Lupus flares are hard to define. In fact, there wasn’t a clear clinical definition of flares until 2010 (and even that definition is pretty broad). If you’re living with lupus, how would you define a flare? What do you experience during one? To gain a deeper understanding of flares from the patient perspective, the PatientsLikeMe research team… Continue reading Lupus flares: Stats and infographics based on the PatientsLikeMe community’s experiences

The 2017 healthcare policy roller coaster ride — and what’s around the bend

It’s been a year of wild ups and downs related to the proposed U.S. healthcare policy changes and unknowns around the Affordable Care Act (ACA or “Obamacare”), Medicare and CHIP (an insurance program for kids). See a legislative recap and what could be next. 2017 ACA repeal efforts recap Having trouble keeping track of what… Continue reading The 2017 healthcare policy roller coaster ride — and what’s around the bend

PatientsLikeMe names 2018 Team of Advisors

  CAMBRIDGE, Mass., December 14, 2017—PatientsLikeMe has named 13 members to its 2018 Team of Advisors, a patients-only group that collaborates with the company on new research and product development, advocates on behalf of patients, and provides real-world perspectives to industry and PatientsLikeMe partners. “This is now our fourth Team of Advisors, and its members… Continue reading PatientsLikeMe names 2018 Team of Advisors

Weed 101: How and why patients use medical marijuana

Medical marijuana is a hot topic in the news (and here in the PatientsLikeMe community). So we took a closer look into what it is, how it works, and what members are saying about it. Take a look: Do you use medical marijuana? Head to PatientsLikeMe to join the conversation and share your experience.   Share this… Continue reading Weed 101: How and why patients use medical marijuana

Finding answers from the community: Members helping members

Offering words of encouragement. Sharing advice. Just being there to listen. Over the years, we’ve seen countless examples of members supporting each other (did you know there’s more than a 100K posts that mention the word “thank you”?). Check out some of the ways members are stepping up and lending a hand. Life-changing advice: Get… Continue reading Finding answers from the community: Members helping members

Treat yourself: 6 self-care tips for the hectic holiday season

The holidays are stressful enough for people living without illness. When you have a health condition, or care for someone who does, the hustle and bustle of this time of year – plus the sky-high expectations for a magical time – can be physically and emotionally draining. We’ve rounded up self-care tips to help you… Continue reading Treat yourself: 6 self-care tips for the hectic holiday season

Amplifying the patient voice on health care: Real people, real change

In 2017, patients like you participated in research, attended conferences and took action on important health care changes. Check out some of the ways the PatientsLikeMe community is raising a unified voice on health care. “Patients are a key piece to healthcare’s puzzle” Back in May, PatientsLikeMe, the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy and Arc… Continue reading Amplifying the patient voice on health care: Real people, real change