$70,000 at Stake in the “Reporting Safety Events Challenge”

How serious is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) about increasing patient safety?   So serious that they are running a contest challenging the best and brightest developers to create a platform that makes it easier to report a patient safety event electronically. The… Continue reading $70,000 at Stake in the “Reporting Safety Events Challenge”

Redesigning Healthcare: Guest Post by Kirt Hine

Today’s guest post is written by Kirt Hine, who was a research intern at PatientsLikeMe in June and July.  On his last day, Kirt gave a presentation to the entire company about his experience at the 2012 Healthcare Experience Design Conference, held in Boston last March.  It made such an impression that we asked him… Continue reading Redesigning Healthcare: Guest Post by Kirt Hine

PatientsLikeMe and Merck Establish Health Information Collaboration Focused on Psoriasis

Patient-Based Research Aims to Produce New Insights Into Most Common Autoimmune Disease in U.S. CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Aug 13, 2012 — PatientsLikeMe announces it has entered into a collaboration with Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, to evaluate the impact of psoriasis on patients and to inform a novel approach to improving outcomes. “A… Continue reading PatientsLikeMe and Merck Establish Health Information Collaboration Focused on Psoriasis

Know Thyself. Quantify Thyself.

Are you someone who likes to track things about yourself?  For example, do you keep an exercise log of how many reps you did – or a food journal that details what (and how much) you consumed?  Do you monitor your health and disease progression at PatientsLikeMe? If so, you might not know it, but… Continue reading Know Thyself. Quantify Thyself.

What Part of MS Are You Most Afraid of?

Can facing your fears help you come to terms with them? That’s the idea behind a recent discussion in our multiple sclerosis (MS) forum, in which one member asked, “What part of MS are you most afraid of?”  The answers poured in from dozens of MS members who found it cathartic to reveal their true… Continue reading What Part of MS Are You Most Afraid of?

Patients as Partners in Personalized Medicine

“It’s only when you really get into the experience of being a patient with a life-changing illness, where you’re dealing with the uncertainty and the process, that you start to learn things.  You start to learn that the experience you’re going through – the pain you’re suffering, or maybe a side effect or something that… Continue reading Patients as Partners in Personalized Medicine

A Day in the Life of PatientsLikeMe Community Manager Jeanette DeVita

What’s it like to work at PatientsLikeMe?  We are continuing to reveal just that with our monthly blog series “A Day in the Life,” which features employees from different departments.  So far, we’ve interviewed User Experience Engineer Cris Necochea, Research Assistant Shivani Bhargava, Office Manager Alison Dutton, Research Scientist Timothy Vaughan, Biz Dev’er Arianne Graham and Product… Continue reading A Day in the Life of PatientsLikeMe Community Manager Jeanette DeVita

Psoriasis Isn’t Contagious…But Awareness Is

Did you know that psoriasis cannot be transmitted through skin-to-skin contact – or any other type of interaction? August is Psoriasis Awareness Month, an annual event dedicated to highlighting the life-altering impact of psoriasis and dispelling the many myths surrounding it.  Beyond the misperception that it may be contagious, another major misunderstanding is that psoriasis… Continue reading Psoriasis Isn’t Contagious…But Awareness Is

What’s in Your Health Record?

If you’re living in an Internet-enabled household, chances are you have all or most of your banking information at your fingertips.  Can you say the same for your health information?  For many, these important records are locked away in filing cabinets or kept at your doctor’s offices. Despite the fact that patients have a legal… Continue reading What’s in Your Health Record?

What Is Big Data?

“Big data” is being discussed in the media quite a bit these days.  But what exactly is it? Generally speaking, it’s a data set that’s extremely large and complex, thus requiring advanced technology to turn it into meaningful insights.  Yet there’s a good reason to try to collect and interpret it.  Simply put, big data… Continue reading What Is Big Data?