Say ‘hi’ to David. Some of you may know him on PatientsLikeMe as dave.b. He developed his first visible symptom of psoriasis at they very young age of 3. Now 22, he’s sharing his personal journey with this highly stigmatized autoimmune condition, along with psoriatic arthritis and Chron’s. See how his conditions have actually given him motivation and how connecting with others has positively impacted his life.

Are you living with both psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis?
Yes, I am living with psoriasis, arthritis and also Crohn’s.

How old were you when you were first diagnosed? Have you had to deal with any stigma at such a young age?
I developed psoriasis at the age of 3, and 3 years later at the age of 6, I developed arthritis. I was experiencing symptoms of Crohn’s since the age of 11. However, I was only diagnosed with Crohn’s at the age of 17. I’m currently 22 years old. My childhood and teen years were very challenging. My conditions had a massive impact on my education. I missed much of school growing up, due to hospital appointments, and just generally suffering with the effects of living with the conditions. I think the worst was growing up with psoriasis, from a social perspective. It shattered my self-confidence and self-esteem. I haven’t had a girlfriend my entire life.

What impact has living with psoriatic arthritis had on your life?
Well, I’ve basically hit the inflammatory jackpot. The odds were so low that I was destined to develop psoriasis, and from that arthritis, and following that, Crohn’s. Over the past few years, I’ve been on 4 different biologics, each failing to provide me with the promised relief that I crave so badly. I’ve tried many different systemic, biologic, and topical treatments over the years, all without any avail. I’ve been through hell and back and I’ve come out smiling.

About three years ago, my psoriasis and arthritis flared up so badly that I was a prisoner to my bed. I had to pull myself along the floor to even get to the toilet, my arthritis was that bad. I was put on extremely high doses of steroids. I put on a lot of weight due to the steroids and eating tons of junk food, and fell into a deep depression. I lost friends and had to drop out of school because I missed so much. As my conditions started to improve, I couldn’t stop myself from looking in the mirror and recognizing what I’ve just been through. I’d developed extremely strong mental strength. I’d reached the lowest point of my life and come out stronger than ever.

I used that strength to motivate myself to lose the weight I’d gained. I was weighing in at 118kg (260.14lbs). I took up interval training and weight lifting. There were days that my arthritis and psoriasis were so bad, but I used the mental strength I obtained and pushed myself as far as I could. The days that I was feeling the worst I’d make sure I trained double as hard. I started eating clean and I lost 40kg (88.18lbs), as well as gaining muscle. I’ve now taken up bodybuilding. My goal is to prove that anything is possible and to never let your health get in the way of your dreams. I still train 6 days a week. I use my previous and current pain as motivation to push me that extra step. So in some aspects, I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to develop this outlook on life, as I can apply it to every other aspect of my life. I started up my own IT company and I’ve been working really hard to develop it. I’m currently 85-90% covered with psoriasis, and I’ve been using crutches to walk around for the past couple of weeks. I still haven’t given up hope yet.

What’s it been like to connect with other psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis patients on PatientsLikeMe?
It’s been an enriching experience connecting with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis patients on PatientsLikeMe. I’ve formed friendships that will last a long time. It’s very rare that you find people that share the same pain that you get from suffering with psoriasis and/or arthritis. It’s a great feeling being able to connect with people on an emotional level and really feel that they know what you’re going through, and that they really do understand. My friends and family try to understand what I go through, but they just can’t relate, as they’ve never experienced it for themselves. PatientsLikeMe takes away the “imagination” factor that my friends and family can only provide me with, when they say, “I can only imagine what you’re going through.”

What is one bit of info that no psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis patient should be without?
Every psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis patient needs to know that there is someone out there that is going through exactly what you’re going through. They should know that you’re not alone in this fight. There may be times when you’re cornered, with your back against the wall, but you’ll make it through with strength and hope. It’s not an easy feat by any means. However, life would be boring without a challenge. Try and find someone on PatientsLikeMe that understands what you’re going through. It helps, trust me. It’s a good feeling to know you can fight against your disease with someone else at the same time. They should also keep in mind that there is treatment that will help out there. You just need to be patient enough to find it. I’ve tried 4 biologics, without relief, but I still haven’t given up hope.

In this second interview of our three-part series, Keith and Sarah talk about how their daily lives changed and the importance of connecting with others. If you missed our first interview with Keith and Sarah, you can find it here.

What were the most noticeable changes you had to make in your daily life?
[Keith] My ability to enjoy time with family was impaired because I could no longer be active with my children or my wife. I could not work because when I tried to do the simplest task, I became out of breath. I could no longer carry a toolbox, go up a set of stairs, or do everyday tasks at home without becoming winded and requiring rest. I wanted to rest all the time and was never comfortable.

As a caregiver, what things could you do to help Keith the most?
[Sarah] Keith eventually got to the point where he needed me for many personal tasks as well as taking care of all of the home tasks. I showered him, and took over our business, and we hired a cleaning service every two weeks to try to keep the house in order. Keith really needed to know that I was there for him. I made lots of special food for him because he needed to gain weight in order to be active on the transplant list.

How did you connect with other transplant patients and why did that help?
[Sarah & Keith] From the beginning, we began to seek out others who had received lung transplants. We found one in our town and eventually met many others through our many visits to the hospital. The lung transplant “family” is a tight one and it really helped to have others to talk to who were waiting, as well as those who had received their transplants and could offer hope and advice. Facebook became a good way to find people through other friends from the hospital, and eventually we developed a close group of “lungies” that we keep in touch with.

Besides PatientsLikeMe, what would you suggest to others patients who are trying to connect with someone like them?[Sarah & Keith] Finding groups on Facebook that relate to organ donation / transplant and beginning conversations with others is a great way to find people. Starting your own Facebook group or blog to raise awareness about your situation is another excellent way to let people find you.

Sarah and Keith are part of our “Spotlighted Blogger” series, where we talk with people who are sharing their personal health experiences to help raise awareness and change healthcare for good. Sarah started blogging about her fiancé Keith’s journey with a rare lung disease back in July of 2012 on her blog Taking a Deep Breath.

Many of you have seen our “Spotlighted Blogger” series, where we talk with people who are sharing their personal health experiences to help raise awareness of disease and change healthcare for good. Well for the first time on our blog, we’re talking with a “Facebooker.” Kim started her Facebook page, Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness, after her father passed away from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). She recently took some time to talk with us about her experiences with the disease and the benefits of online patient communities.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and your experience with IPF?
My father was diagnosed with IPF in July of 2006. He always had a chronic cough and never got it checked out until one day it got really bad and my step mom made him go get checked out. He had a chest X-ray and the doctor gave him the tentative diagnosis of IPF. Surely, the only true way to know if a person has IPF is through a lung biopsy so that’s what he had done, I believe in September of 2006.

There was a complication during the biopsy. His lung collapsed and he was in the hospital for about 6 weeks. The lung never did fully inflate. He ended up having 2 chest tubes while in the hospital. He was in good spirits though, always reassuring me that he was doing well and things would get better. Over the next few months he started the process of getting on the lung transplant list at Duke University. He did all the rigorous testing and lost the weight. I went to take care of him for a few days and while he had trouble with catching his breath when walking around, he was still walking on the treadmill to lose that weight. He was in good spirits even though he was exhausted. He was on oxygen therapy 24/7. At Christmas time, we spent the day together and he had a hard time talking because he couldn’t breathe very well. It was the last time I heard my father speak.

A few days later they moved to NC where they waited for the call. His health deteriorated quickly and about a month later he was rushed to the hospital because he couldn’t breathe. It was a Thursday when I got the call from my step mom that my dad was intubated and that my sister and me needed to go down to NC to be with him. She informed us that it wasn’t good and that it was the end. It was the hardest trip I ever had to make.

We walked up to his hospital room in the ICU and I slowed down before we got to his room and I looked in and backed away and fell to the floor, crying. I couldn’t believe that my father, this strong man, was lying so helpless in a hospital bed, so dependent on machines to keep him alive. The kind staff at the hospital helped me go to my father in the room where I sat by his side. I didn’t hold his hand right away. Touching isn’t something he liked so I respected that. We spoke with the doctors and nurses and organ donation coordinators. We waited as long as humanly possible for lungs to become available. It was decided that Saturday he would be taken off the list because he had been intubated too long and his heart was working too hard. We could have extubated on that day but I know my father and I believed he wanted to be an organ donor. So we postponed his passing by one day so that the donor team could get ready with recipients.

The next day around 7:30am we arrived at the hospital to say our goodbyes. I remember checking his monitors pretty regularly and when we walked in his heart rate was around 70 and when my sister and me finally held his hand, his heart rate went up to 87. We talked with him privately about what his final wishes were. We knew he couldn’t talk but we wanted to talk to him anyway and try to get any sort of response out of him. We waited a couple more hours for the stuff to be put in place and then they wheeled him down to the operating room. We waited in the family room for a few minutes where the coordinator went over with us what to expect. They said that if he breathes on his own for 10 minutes after he’s extubated he will be intubated again and taken back to his room. But this never happened.

We were there for him during his final minutes. Telling him that it was ok to move on, that we would be ok. I am next of kin so it was my decision to make him an organ donor and my decision to take him off life support. It’s my signature on those papers. Something I will never be able to change. The hardest thing I’ve ever had to sign in my life. We watched as he peacefully tried to breathe. After his last breath, we all continued to sob and the doctor confirmed that he had passed.

We had approx 2 minutes to say our final goodbye before they wheeled him in to the OR for organ recovery. It wasn’t a good atmosphere for us to be in when he passed because there were teams of doctors and nurses standing in this big room with us waiting for him to pass. But I tried not to focus on that part too much. My step mom was at the helm, talking to him while he tried to breathe. At about 10am on Jan 28 2007 my father passed away waiting for a lung transplant due to IPF.

You’ve been very active in the IPF community for a long time. How have you seen online communities help patients and caregivers with IPF?
I created the Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness (PFA) group on Facebook initially as a memorial to my dad; just a place for my friends and family to go to remember him. It now has almost 5,000 members. I have met so many wonderful people through this group. Many who are patients and care givers. All have been affected by IPF in some way. This online group has become a community where they can share their experiences, trials and tribulations. A lot of members go on there to just read about other people’s issues. We have several “regular” members that post quite often. I feel like if I hadn’t made this group, some of these members never would have met and that is so humbling to me. Having an online community really helps in this digital age because many of those struggling with IPF aren’t able to leave the house or have trouble getting around in the community, so they are able to reach out and socialize over the internet. I am proud to have helped in that way.

How do you think information sharing platforms like PatientsLikeMe benefit patients?
I think it’s a fantastic tool for those dealing with any illness to track their progress. It’s multifaceted, somewhat user friendly and very well put together over all. It’s another great outlet for those who can’t leave the house due to their illnesses or those who can but want to document their life.

What are some other helpful resources that you think IPF patients should know about?
There are so many communities and organizations available to IPF patients. The PFA group is partnered with the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, so a lot of our members come from there and some of the members of PFA go there for resources. There’s also the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis. I get a lot of newsletters from them. They were the first organization to tell me about the new drug pirfenidone when it was in its clinical trial stage and now it’s in the manufacturing stage.

What’s one thing you think every patient with IPF might not know, but should?
MAKE MEMORIES STARTING NOW! I will never be able to create memories with my dad anymore. Had I known he was going to pass so quickly, I would’ve spent more time with him, called him more etc. Each day is a gift and each day a new memory should be made. Cherish them. You never know when it’ll end.

If you’re living with IPF, find others just like you in our growing community of almost 400 IPF patients on PatientsLikeMe. Learn what they’re doing to manage their condition with symptom and treatment reports, and share your own experience with a personal health profile and in the IPF forum.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.— May 13, 2013—PatientsLikeMe and the nonprofit Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP) announce a new partnership with global healthcare leader Sanofi (NYSE: SNY) to raise awareness about the benefits of participating in clinical trials. The partnership will focus on: spotlighting “Medical Heroes” (those who “give the gift of their participation in clinical trials” to advance medical knowledge); increasing patient awareness about clinical trial opportunities; and advancing PatientsLikeMe’s mission to accelerate research by analyzing patients’ real-world disease experiences.

The partnership will utilize the PatientsLikeMe’s Clinical Trial Awareness tool to match patients with relevant Sanofi clinical trials and CISCRP’s educational materials to inform patients and their support network about the clinical research process. Through the tool, patients can search for and be notified about trials based on age, sex, disease or condition, and location criteria.

As part of this collaboration, the clinical trial tool on PatientsLikeMe will become part of Sanofi’s clinical trial recruitment process for a range of conditions, including asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and oncology. Additionally, the partners will work together to raise awareness among doctors of the benefits of clinical trials for their patients. This collaboration adds to CISCRP’s expansive outreach and education channel, including clinical research and health professionals, disease advocacy groups and patient communities.

“Tens of thousands of people are actively engaged in monitoring their health and sharing their experiences on PatientsLikeMe,” says PatientsLikeMe Co-founder and Chairman Jamie Heywood. “They’re not just helping each other, but contributing directly to research. They are heroes in the truest sense, ideal partners for medical discovery, and the best source for real-world, real-time evidence.”

“An integrative approach that combines patient education with recruitment communication is essential to engaging informed study volunteers,” says Ken Getz, CISCRP’s founder and chairman. “We’re very excited about our involvement in this groundbreaking collaboration.”

About PatientsLikeMe
PatientsLikeMe is a patient network that improves lives and a real-time research platform that advances medicine. Through the network, patients connect with others who have the same disease or condition and track and share their own experiences. In the process, they generate data about the real-world nature of disease that help researchers, pharmaceutical companies, regulators, providers and nonprofits develop more effective products, services and care. PatientsLikeMe is a trusted source for real-world disease information and a clinically robust resource that has published more than 30 peer-reviewed research studies. Visit us at www.patientslikeme.com or follow us on our blog, on Twitter or via Facebook.

About CISCRP
The Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP), now in its ninth year is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and informing the public, patients, medical/research communities, the media, and policy makers about clinical research and the role each party plays in the process. CISCRP provides a broad portfolio of products and services to educate and engage patients and enhance the participation experience. For more information about CISCRP’s educational initiatives visit www.ciscrp.org.

May is Huntington’s Disease (HD) Awareness Month and the Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA) is helping spread the word. For each day of the month, the HDSA is sharing the real-world experience of someone affected by this neurodegenerative disease: patients, caregivers, social workers, doctors and public servants. You can see the latest every day on their “Faces of HD” page.

There are also HD events planned throughout the month and all over the country. From Rhode Island to California, Michigan to Missouri, you’ll find one close to you to join. There are runs, walks, bowling, dinners and more.

If you’re living with Huntington’s, find others just like you in our growing community on PatientsLikeMe. Learn what they’re doing to manage their condition, see symptom and treatment reports, and share your own experience with a personal health profile or in the community forums.

In our “Spotlighted Blogger” series, we’re talking with people who are sharing their personal health experiences to help raise awareness of disease and change healthcare for good. For our latest interview, we’re talking with Tricia who’s writing about her journey with multiple sclerosis (MS) on her blog Love My MS Life. Some of you may know her on PatientsLikeMe as jakesmama. Check out her full interview below where she talks about the impact of connecting with others and why it took 11 years to get a diagnosis.

Why did you start blogging about your journey with MS and how has the community reacted?
I started blogging about my journey with MS last year. I’ve had MS for over 20 years and have been an avid fundraiser, MS Champion and MS Advocate ever since. My goal was/is to share my experiences with others living with MS to hopefully inspire and encourage them, while “telling it like it is.”

The reaction has been wonderful! When I hear people tell me they relate to my experiences because they “get it,” it makes me feel like I’m doing something good for others that share this disease.

In one of your posts, you mention that your first symptom started 11 years before you were officially diagnosed. Can you tell us about that?
When I was 13 years old, I had the virus mononucleosis. One afternoon the vision in my left eye became blurry but I disregarded it. The next morning I woke up and the vision was basically gone in my left eye. I was dizzy, nauseous and was taken to the hospital. The doctors called my bout of optic neuritis a “fluke thing” and I went home. During my high school years I would have bouts of optic neuritis in my good eye and would be given oral prednisone to bring the swelling of the optic nerve down. It wasn’t until my son Jake was nine months old that my ophthalmologist sent me for an MRI. This was 11 years later and when I was diagnosed with MS.

What’s it been like to connect to others with MS on PatientsLikeMe?
A friend of mine told me about PatientsLikeMe years ago. It’s a great way to connect with others living with MS, to compare symptoms and offer suggestions. I use it as a helpful tool to track my disease progression, keep notes, and learn from others.

What’s one bit of knowledge no MS patient should be without?
One of my favorite quotes is, “Never, never, never give up,” by Winston Churchill. I believe all patients living with MS struggle daily whether we can see it or not. I choose to have HOPE for my future and HOPE for a cure!

If you’re living with MS, find others just like you in our growing community of more than 31,000 MS patients on PatientsLikeMe. Learn what they’re doing to manage their condition with symptom and treatment reports and share your own experience with a personal health profile or in the community forum.

As part of our “Spotlighted Blogger” series, we’re talking with people who are sharing their personal health experiences to help raise awareness of disease and change healthcare for good. For our latest interview, we’re talking with Sarah and Keith. Sarah started writing about her fiancé Keith’s journey with a rare lung disease back in July of 2012 on her blog Taking a Deep Breath. In this first part of our three-part series, Keith and Sarah talk about why they started blogging, and the difficulties of finding the right diagnosis.

What prompted you to start blogging about Keith’s journey and what’s the reaction been? 

[Sarah] When Keith’s health took a turn for the worse in the winter of 2011, I asked him repeatedly if he would allow me to share his story, knowing that we were likely going down a very difficult road, and selfishly wanting lots of support while we (I) went down that road. He wasn’t comfortable sharing until the day we drove away from his respirologist’s office, after an appointment where the doctor said that Keith was “fine,” wasn’t a candidate for transplant, and didn’t need to be on oxygen. We knew different. I blogged, we got a second opinion, and Keith was on oxygen within 4 days, and referred to the transplant program at Toronto General Hospital (TGH) within 2 weeks.

At what point did you know that something was not right? What was your first symptom?
[Keith] I got a cold that wouldn’t go away, and it turned into a pneumonia. I was hospitalized in the fall/winter of 1997. I never fully recovered.

What was involved in finding a diagnosis? Did Keith ever receive an official diagnosis?
[Sarah] Keith visited various specialists and respirologists and was misdiagnosed with various diseases (BOOP {bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia}, COPD, asthma) before the final diagnosis of diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) was given. It was a strange diagnosis since the disease strikes people of Asian descent, and Keith is Caucasian. DNA testing was done to see if there was Asian blood in his makeup, but there was not. Interestingly enough, in the final pathology of Keith’s old lungs after removal – this diagnosis was confirmed.

What advice do you both have for patients that are struggling to find a diagnosis? 
[Sarah & Keith] Ask as many people as you can who have experience with lung disease, or know someone who has it. Find out doctors’ names, get referrals and stick to your guns. If you don’t feel right, tell someone!

This week, PatientsLikeMe announced two new appointments to the team: Kim Goodwin and Sally Okun RN. Here Sally, who was promoted to Vice President of Advocacy, Policy and Patient Safety, explains how she’ll continue to make sure the patient voice is heard, collected and disseminated to affect better treatment, services and care. Look for more of Sally in April, when she’ll be the first nurse to grace the stage at 2013 TEDMED in Washington, D.C.

What exactly is patient advocacy?
I like to think of it as actions by individuals, groups or organizations to support the interests and needs of patients across the healthcare system. Patient advocates can be family members or friends, professionals like nurses or social workers or non-professionals, including health coaches and navigators. They can also be nonprofit groups and grassroots activists. For me, patient advocacy is part of my being. It has grown out of my experiences as a nurse and as a family caregiver.

Creating the advocacy role at PatientsLikeMe is a formal step that highlights something we’ve done for years: amplify the voice of our patient members, especially among external groups such as health systems, government agencies and policymakers. We want to continue to drive industry and government to make more patient-centric decisions. It’s never been more important.   

What is your safety focus and how will it impact members?
Our safety focus to date has largely been on side effects experienced by patients when using drugs and medical products. These data are an important contribution to the understanding of how medications work in the real world, outside of the controlled environment of clinical trials.

We’re exploring how best to collect meaningful safety information that matters most to you and other patients, including information about medical devices and equipment, infections, falls in care facilities, and complications that may result from overtreatment. Sharing this information with our members and industry at large can support better decision-making and better outcomes.

Why is your role important to patients?
I have the unique opportunity to bring attention to a variety of topics and issues that our members are concerned about. For example, there have been many changes to the healthcare system as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Prominent among these is the concept called “patient-centered care,” which is being infused into all aspects of care, research and policy development.

My new role gives me access to meetings, discussions and conferences being held around the country and all over the world, focused on the nuts and bolts of putting patient-centered care into action. It is vital to have groups such as PatientsLikeMe present at these meetings. Our real-world perspective is essential if we are to move beyond buzzwords to programs and policies that really matter to you, our patients.

What don’t policymakers know about patients?
Probably the most frequently asked questions by policymakers, clinicians and researchers alike are related to patient engagement and patient activation, considered by many to be “the blockbuster drug of the century.” (see this Health Affairs  piece)  There’s evidence from research studies and demonstration projects that patients who are more engaged in their care and more activated to participate in their care have better outcomes – this can translate into better health for the patient at less cost.

This isn’t news to PatientsLikeMe or you, our members! In fact, our members, who tend to be more engaged and active in their own care, have reported benefits that include improved communication with their doctors, less hospitalizations, improved adherence to medications and better understanding of their condition. Now, that’s real evidence of the power of patients engaging with each other.

How can members be involved in what you do?
Over the past couple of months, I have had the opportunity to reach out to members through our Community Team on a couple of advocacy and policy projects. For example, we recently collaborated with one of our members with MS (LadyMac) for this conference. In the future, I hope to have a place on the website that allows for direct dialogue about current and future activities related to advocacy, policy and safety. It will also be a place where I will circle back with information after attending events, conferences and meetings.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.— March 19, 2013—PatientsLikeMe appoints Kim Goodwin and Sally Okun RN to two newly-created positions that will keep patient needs upfront as the company continues to enhance its website and drive industry and government to make more patient-centric decisions. Kim Goodwin has been named Vice President (VP) of User Experience (UX) and Sally Okun has been promoted to VP of Advocacy, Policy and Patient Safety.

PatientsLikeMe Co-founder and President Ben Heywood says the appointments underscore the company’s “patients first” mission. “We’ve been committed to understanding and representing patient interests for years. With Kim and Sally in these roles, we’ll be in an even better position to keep patients at the forefront of all we do – from how we develop our website to how we represent patient interests at an industry and policy level.”

Kim Goodwin
In her role as VP of UX, Kim will evolve the information and structure on www.patientslikeme.com to help people live better lives with their conditions. She plans to expand member involvement in the website development process to improve usability and to make sure the website’s content answers their most important questions. She will also make it easier for members to find and connect with people who share not just the same condition, but the same values and experiences. Additionally, Kim and her new team will improve how researchers and providers conduct research and interact with members on the site.

Kim’s expertise in design has made her one of the most distinguished UX experts in the world. She is a frequent speaker and the author of the 2009 bestseller Designing for the Digital Age, which is heralded as the most comprehensive how-to guide in the field. Before joining PatientsLikeMe she was VP of Design and General Manager at California-based design firm Cooper. Over the years, Kim has also worked with clients including Lexus, Cardinal Health, Abbott, Medtronic Diabetes, Boeing, Cisco, and Best Buy. Her healthcare experience includes work for companies delivering diagnostic and treatment devices, consumer health education and tracking, and desktop and tablet-based electronic medical records.

Sally Okun
As VP of Advocacy, Policy and Patient Safety, Sally plays a vital role in ensuring the patient voice is heard, collected and disseminated to affect better treatment, services and care. As the company’s liaison with government and regulatory agencies, she will bring the patient voice to worldwide healthcare discussions and educate policy makers on the benefits of sharing health data. Previously, she developed the company’s drug safety and pharmacovigilance platform, which monitors patient data for potential adverse events. In this new role, Sally will continue to expand the website’s drug safety content and ensure the data collected about treatments and their impact become more transparent to the community at large.

Recently named a 2013 TEDMED speaker, Sally joined PatientsLikeMe in 2008 and led the team responsible for the website’s medical ontology and curation of patient-reported health data. She has since been a frequent speaker at policy workshops and forums and has contributed to peer reviewed publications and discussion papers for the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and others. She also co-authored a chapter for Health Informatics: An Interprofessional Approach, an upcoming Elsevier textbook. A registered nurse for over three decades, Sally’s clinical practice specialized in palliative and end-of-life care. In that time she also participated in numerous clinical, research, and educational initiatives of national significance.

About PatientsLikeMe
PatientsLikeMe is a patient network that improves lives and a real-time research platform that advances medicine. Through the network, patients connect with others who have the same disease or condition and track and share their own experiences. In the process, they generate data about the real-world nature of disease that help researchers, pharmaceutical companies, regulators, providers and nonprofits develop more effective products, services and care. PatientsLikeMe is a trusted source for real-world disease information and a clinically robust resource that has published more than 30 peer-reviewed research studies. Visit us at www.patientslikeme.com or follow us on our blog, on Twitter or via Facebook.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Partnering with Patients workshop, where PatientsLikeMe’s Health Data Integrity & Patient Safety Director Sally Okun, RN, MMHS, and PatientsLikeMe member Laura Phillips, who has multiple sclerosis (MS), shared the stage as co-presenters. It was a novel approach to incorporate a patient co-presenter into our presentation, and Sally reported that it made the experience quite special for her.

The day-and-a-half-long meeting brought together clinicians, researchers, policy makers, advocates, patients and caregivers—people who all care about creating better value and improving the quality of healthcare in the US. In the opening remarks by IOM Chairman Michael McGinnis, whose arm was in a sling, we were reminded that everyone is a patient at some point, but most don’t always have that mindset.

The meeting covered many topics, including the problems with healthcare that are complicated and hard to change. Coming from the PatientsLikeMe community team, the topic that struck me most was empowering patients to meaningfully participate in the decisions that affect them, such as which treatment to take or which doctor to see. There are many barriers to finding the answers, and we have a long way to go in making the answers more accessible, but I was happy to reflect on how our growing community of 180,000+ patients is already becoming more involved in their care by sharing their symptom and treatment data with each other.

Here were two other key takeaways from the workshop, as well as a look at how PatientsLikeMe is addressing each issue:

1. Patients need more information – and better information.

We heard that patients don’t have enough information, and they don’t know how to use the information they do have. Research articles are convoluted, access is limited, options aren’t presented; and as we heard from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patient Kelly Young, who writes the blog RA Warrior, textbook definitions may not apply to everyone.

In contrast, our PatientsLikeMe community is sharing what’s normal to them, helping others interpret and digest research and creating a real-world database of what is actually going on with their health conditions. That way, members can learn the different treatment options and disease courses, discover the questions they haven’t yet thought about, and decide what’s right for them.

2. The entire doctor/patient culture could use a tune-up.

There was a massive call for a “culture change” in many areas of healthcare, including the way clinicians and patients interact. Jeff Belkora from the University of Califormia, San Francisco, and his team of pre-medical interns shared how having an advocate can make a big difference in doctors’ appointments. For example, an advocate can help you define your questions, actually ask them in the office and be an active participant in making decisions about your care.

While some argue the culture change needs to come from both patients and clinicians, PatientsLikeMe members are already taking huge leaps in demanding to be heard. Members are sharing that it’s okay to fire your doctor, learn from others the right questions to be asking and arrive at doctors’ appointments with your own data in hand, including PatientsLikeMe’s handy Doctor Visit Sheet.

Overall, it was great to see so many people focused on making healthcare better, and that all of these various groups are looking to other consumer models for best practices. I truly felt that the workshop attendees were dedicated to listening—and finding new ways to listen—to families and patients in the name of better care.

What did PatientsLikeMe member Laura Phillips think of the IOM workshop?  Check out her take.

Today, February 28th, is Rare Disease Day, a worldwide event showing solidarity with rare disease patients and their families around the globe.  The theme for this year is “Raise and Join Your Hands,” and everyone is being asked to participate, whether you’re an individual, an office with 10 people or a public gathering with 1,000 people.

Here at PatientsLikeMe, we are taking part by raising our hands and sharing our group photo in solidarity with the campaign as well as all of our members living with rare diseases, which affect 1 in 10 people worldwide.  You are encouraged to submit your own photo here.

Rare diseases are a special passion for PatientsLikeMe, as our company was started due to our founders’ experience with a rare disease called ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).  Since then, we’ve partnered with the Global Genes Project to form the RARE Open Registry Project to connect patients fighting rare diseases and help them share and learn.

“It’s terrifying to think you’re alone and manage your rare illness with a doctor who might not have ever seen another patient like you,” says PatientsLikeMe Co-Founder Jamie Heywood. “We will change that.”  Most recently, we launched the world’s first open registry for patients with alkaptonuria (AKU), the first genetic disease discovered.

We are all too aware that Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive illness, with tremors, difficulty walking and other symptoms usually getting worse over time.  Here at PatientsLikeMe, and in the clinic, that progression is measured with the Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (PDRS). Although you can never really simplify a whole disease down to a few numbers, having that numerical description helps your health care team track your disease and how you are doing over the long haul.

But if you or a loved one has PD, you know that a decline over time is only part of the story. You probably have good days and bad days, depending on all kinds of factors. Understanding those ups and downs is also big part of living with PD. It may also be a big part of treating it.

In collaboration with PatientsLikeMe’s Paul Wicks and MIT’s Max Little and Alex Pentland, I have been studying those ups and downs. In our freely available paper recently published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, we explored mathematically the dynamics of the PDRS. (If you love math, this is the paper for you!)

One of the most important things we found is that these random fluctuations seen in many patients are large enough that they can be considered “clinically meaningful” – just as big as those long-term progression changes that doctors and nurses consider when they think about what treatments may be best for you. So, it is especially important for your team to know how you’ve been doing over the last few weeks, and not just today.

Knowing your own ups and downs may help you figure out your best possible treatment plan. We also hope that by studying the data shared by lots of people like you, we can understand PD better, which will ultimately lead to better treatments for everyone. As always, thanks for sharing!

p.s. For those of you keeping up, yes, the Max Little mentioned above is the very same applied mathematician we’ve partnered with to help advance his groundbreaking research at the Parkinson’s Voice Initiative.  Don’t miss this recent CNN profile of Max’s exciting project, which is based on the theory that the voice (as recorded via a simple phone call) can be used as a biomarker for PD progression.

Did you know we now have more than 30,000 members in our fibromyalgia community?  In honor of this major milestone, we decided to interview DarkAuburn, who joined in 2009.  She’s a three-star member, which means she’s earned our top star rating for sharing complete, in-depth information about her fibromyalgia symptoms, treatments, quality of life and much more.  In addition, she has opted for a public profile, which means that anyone on the Internet (whether a PatientsLikeMe member or not) can learn from her detailed condition history.  Check out our interview with this veteran member below.

1. Tell us a little about the PatientsLikeMe fibromyalgia community.

I was not expecting much when I found the site. I thought it would be more of an informational, non-involvement sort of site. I was surprised, as in a good surprise. I don’t know many people where I live that have fibromyalgia, and I didn’t realize how welcoming this site would be. I found people who, like me, wanted answers. The sharing of information and support was a nice thing to find.

2. What’s it like to have access to the experiences and data of tens of thousands of other fibromyalgia patients?

It’s staggering. I didn’t know much about fibromyalgia before I was diagnosed. I can’t say I’m an expert now either. But the information has helped me better communicate with my doctor.

3. As a wife, mother and grandmother, how has fibromyalgia affected your family?

People ask my husband all the time how I am doing. He will tell them that I have good days and bad days, and we have learned to take each day as it comes. When I told my children, they were concerned. My daughter is a research junkie, and she looked it up and explained to her brother what I have. His response was, “That explains a lot.” Since I don’t get to see my children and grandchildren on a daily basis, I just deal with fibromyalgia and play with my grandchildren.

4.  What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from other patients?

I have learned that I am not alone in this.

With financial support from UCB, the Department of Veterans Affairs and PatientsLikeMe will study patient-reported outcomes.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Jan 22, 2013 — Today, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Epilepsy Centers of Excellence (ECoE), biopharmaceutical company UCB and health data-sharing website PatientsLikeMe announce a new study to better understand what factors improve health outcomes for veterans with epilepsy.  The ECoE has recently completed a pilot study focused on collecting and sharing real world, patient-reported data on seizure frequency and severity, treatment adherence, patient and physician dialogue and overall quality of life. The study is now open and available to all veterans living with epilepsy at www.poemstudy.org.

“This collaborative effort, with partners from government and private industry, provides an exciting opportunity to improve the outcomes of the thousands of veterans with epilepsy. Our work together may also deliver insights into how we can improve the care for anyone with epilepsy,” says study lead and ECoE’s John Hixson , M.D.

As part of their initial partnership to help epilepsy patients, which began in 2010, PatientsLikeMe and UCB conducted a study of members of the PatientsLikeMe epilepsy community that showed that people with epilepsy who joined PatientsLikeMe better understood their own seizures and improved adherence to their medications.^1,2 The new study of veterans will integrate validated clinical outcome measures alongside the patient-reported benefits of the online PatientsLikeMe community. The community platform allows patients to update their physician on aspects of their epilepsy, such as changes in symptoms and medication side effects, and enables physicians to view this patient data prior to clinic visits. The goal is to provide a complementary support system that enhances clinic visits and improves patient outcomes.

UCB, a leader in epilepsy, is providing the funding for the study. “We are committed to improving the standard of care for people living with epilepsy. We believe that this collaboration will address some of the unique challenges faced by veterans impacted by epilepsy and will be a model for other providers of care,” says Patty Fritz , Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Operations at UCB.

According to the ECoE, approximately 5.6 million veterans visit VA Medical Centers each year, and approximately 66,000 of these veterans are diagnosed with seizures or epilepsy. Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder defined as two or more unprovoked seizures.³

Adds Jamie Heywood , co-founder and chairman of PatientsLikeMe, “This is a great opportunity to validate our earlier findings, which revealed that epilepsy patients using our website reduced side effects, increased compliance and reduced ER visits. Our partnership further demonstrates how committed UCB and the VA are to advancing innovation in health care. Collaborations like this will build the foundation for a patient-centric future in medicine.”

References
1. Wicks, P., Keininger, D. L., Massagli, M. P., de la Loge, C., Brownstein, C., Isojarvi, J., & Heywood, J. (2011). Perceived benefits of sharing health data between people with epilepsy on an online platform. Epilepsy & Behavior.
2. De la Loge, C., Massagli, M., Wicks, P. PatientsLikeMe®, a data-sharing online community: benefits for patients with epilepsy. Presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (April 9-16 2011), Honolulu, USA.
3. Epilepsy Foundation. About Epilepsy. http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/aboutepilepsy/. Accessed 9/13/12

About PatientsLikeMe
PatientsLikeMe® (www.patientslikeme.com) is the world’s leading online health data sharing platform. PatientsLikeMe® creates new knowledge by charting the real-world course of disease through the shared experiences of patients. While patients interact to help improve their outcomes, the data they provide helps researchers learn how these diseases act in the real world and accelerate the discovery of new, more effective treatments. [Follow company news on Twitter.com/PatientsLikeMe and http://blog.patientslikeme.com]

About ECoE
The VA has funded the Epilepsy Centers of Excellence (http://www.epilepsy.va.gov/). The Centers of Excellence are charged with: (1) establishing a national system of care to all veterans with epilepsy, (2) educating veterans and others in their lives impacted by epilepsy about high quality epilepsy care, (3) providing health professional education and training in order to deliver the highest quality of standard of care to veterans with epilepsy, (4) utilizing national VA and other databases in order to inform providers and policy makers in Central Office about health care delivery and health policy decisions, (5) conducting state-of-the-art research about epilepsy, and (6) implementing an informatics backbone to meet the above objectives.

About UCB
UCB, Brussels, Belgium (www.ucb.com) is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative medicines and solutions to transform the lives of people living with severe diseases of the immune system or of the central nervous system. With more than 8,500 people in about 40 countries, the company generated revenue of EUR 3.2 billion in 2011. UCB is listed on Euronext Brussels (symbol: UCB).