{"id":1712,"date":"2015-10-30T09:04:19","date_gmt":"2015-10-30T13:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/patientslikeme-using-the-crowd-to-improve-medical-care\/"},"modified":"2015-10-30T09:04:19","modified_gmt":"2015-10-30T13:04:19","slug":"patientslikeme-using-the-crowd-to-improve-medical-care","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/patientslikeme-using-the-crowd-to-improve-medical-care\/","title":{"rendered":"PatientsLikeMe: Using the crowd to improve medical care"},"content":{"rendered":"

With a combined $4.1 billion in funding in 2014 alone, digital health companies are bringing much needed innovation to the healthcare industry.\u00a0 We\u2019ve all seen how consumer companies have leveraged crowd-sourcing to help design or choose which next generation products to market based on consumer preferences, but the healthcare industry is also figuring out how to use the power of crowds to help improve medical care.\u00a0 One company, PatientsLikeMe, has figured out how to utilize crowd-sourcing to improve treatments for a variety of conditions by listening to the patients who actually suffer from these conditions.<\/p>\n

Community of Sharing and Learning<\/strong><\/p>\n

Founded in 2004, PatientsLikeMe is a free online community for people suffering from any type of medical condition.\u00a0 Via the site, users are able to document and share their experiences, track their conditions, and communicate with others suffering from the same or similar conditions.\u00a0 With over 350,000 members and 2,500 conditions represented in the community, users are given a place where they can discuss their specific condition and seek comfort and support from people who understand what they are going through.\u00a0 However, the benefits are much greater than just the one-on-one support users find on the site.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Research Partners<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite having what the company calls a \u201cnot-just-for-profit-attitude\u201d, PatientsLikeMe is a for-profit company and, like a lot of online companies, they make money by leveraging the data their users provide.\u00a0 From pharmaceutical companies to research institutes, PatientsLikeMe\u2019s data-sharing partners pay to access the real-time, personal experiences of people suffering from conditions they are currently interested in.\u00a0 But unlike a company that buys a user\u2019s search history data to market them products they may or may-not need, PatientsLikeMe\u2019s partners utilize the community\u2019s data to further improve treatment for these conditions or develop new treatments altogether.\u00a0 Therefore, users of the site are incentivized to share as much information about how they feel, side-effects of any medications they are on, successful treatments they\u2019ve tried, what they care most about, etc., because the more they share the more information these partners have to help improve their treatment options.\u00a0 To date, data from PatientsLikeMe\u2019s community has been used to publish over 60 research studies and has been used to study a variety of medical products and services such as drugs, devices, equipment, and insurance.<\/p>\n

Commitment to Transparency<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unlike a lot of online companies leveraging their users\u2019 data, PatientsLikeMe has a strong commitment to being 100% transparent with the users of their site on what data is shared and what isn\u2019t.\u00a0 The company prominently states its policy on the site, stating that \u201call information, besides any restricted personal information, can be shared with people within and outside the community\u201d.\u00a0 Sharing users\u2019 data is not only vital for the company, but is directly beneficial to the users of the site and by being completely transparent, users know how their data is being shared and are less likely to feel used by the community.\u00a0 In addition, the company does not sell any data for marketing purposes without explicit consent from users.\u00a0 Overall, the company transparency creates a community based on trust and alignment on a single goal, improving the lives of the people suffering from these conditions.<\/p>\n

The Road Ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the greatest challenges the company faces today is the ability to continue to grow its community and continue to collect a volume of data that\u2019s beneficial to their data-sharing partners.\u00a0 The patients who are most likely to contribute to a community like PatientsLikeMe are ones who suffer from their condition on a frequent basis and who are constantly seeking better treatments and support.\u00a0 Patient populations for these types of conditions are usually fairly small and this is apparent in the relatively small community size of less than half a million users (for comparison, Snapchat has close to 200M users).\u00a0 Despite this concern, PatientsLikeMe is a company that should be around for many years to come.\u00a0 The information being shared on the site is data that is best captured from the patients themselves (a lot of qualitative data can be lost in translation from patients to doctors).\u00a0 As long as medical companies are seeking ways to improve treatments of the conditions discussed on the site, they will be interested in hearing what these patient populations have to say.\u00a0 What\u2019s good for the patients is good for the data-sharing partners and it\u2019s this unique relationship that allows a company built on crowd-sourcing patient experiences to be successful.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.Patientslikeme.com<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.fiercebiotechit.com\/story\/patientslikeme-leads-crowdsourcing-patient-outcomes\/2013-02-25<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2015\/08\/03\/disruption-in-healthcare-could-be-costly\/#.5gjpe8:RqTT<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PatientsLikeMe is improving medical care by crowd-sourcing information from those who matter most, the patients themselves. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":162,"featured_media":1713,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[672,126,646],"class_list":["post-1712","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crowd-sourcing","category-digitalhealth","category-healthcare-and-wellness"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/assignment\/leveraging-the-collective-intelligence-and-effort-of-digital-crowds\/","yoast_head":"\nPatientsLikeMe: Using the crowd to improve medical care - Digital Innovation and Transformation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/patientslikeme-using-the-crowd-to-improve-medical-care\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PatientsLikeMe: Using the crowd to improve medical care - 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