Why peer-to-peer online patient communities are important to patients, caregivers and pharma

Why peer-to-peer online patient communities are important to patients, caregivers and pharma By Kathleen Hoffman, PhD What do patients and caregivers say about online patient communities? Inspire posts, podcasts, and patient advocates concur on the powerful and varied benefits, especially in research collaborations and as a trusted source of treatment and clinical trial information. Opportunity for research collaborations As early as 2005, Inspire member, Katherine K. Leon searched for other people with Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD). Slowly she found members in Inspire’s WomenHeart community. Motivated by a lack of information explaining why her coronary artery dissected, [...]