The Value of Openness: The PatientsLikeMe Blog

According to a December 2007 iCrossing survey cited by Jane Sarasohn-Kahn in her Health Populi blog “34% of Americans turn to social media for health research.”

Jane points to PatientsLikeMe and others as “proof of the reality of social media in health is alive and well and healing”, and observes that “increasing numbers of people are reaching out to others for more than the kind of support they might have found in the Compuserve health interest groups in the 1980s; they’re finding practical solutions to chronic health challenges”

Interesting reading, especially her response to one commenter that “In the case of info for PatientsLikeMe, the database on drug dosing, quality of life and outcomes throughout the MS cycle is probably richer than any other single source on the globe”.

PatientsLikeMe attended the inaugural Health 2.0 conference in San Francisco. Congratulations to Matthew Holt and Indu Subaiya for putting on a great show. Ben Heywood participated in the Social Media panel along with other great health 2.0 companies, DailyStrength, OrganizedWisdom, Inspire, MedHelp, and Sophia’s Garden. The high quality of each company’s offering ensures that patients will continue to have many destinations to share their health situations, get support, and even answers.

At the end of the social media panel, the 500 conference guests were asked which company they’d choose if they were an e-patient. PatientsLikeMe received 39% of the votes. While we appreciate this high praise from our peers, our mission is to positively effect patient outcomes through our site and to improve healthcare overall. We’re honored to be a part of this movement with other leading companies in the space.