Researching Treatment Options in Online Communities Impacts Decision-Making By Kathleen Hoffman, PhD, MSPH Inspire members don’t just give each other encouragement – they often educate each other through their posts, and take new information to their own doctors. Some members have even found specialists in their conditions and chosen doctors and treatments based on what they learned from the Inspire community. Here are posts from some members talking about their experiences. Today I had another one of those 10-15 minute protocol meetings with my onc [oncologist] as I approach the end of yet another round on [...]

Respecting privacy matters By Kathleen Hoffman, PhD, MSPH In May, the HealthcareNOW radio program “Harlow on Healthcare” featured Inspire’s founder and CEO, Brian Loew speaking with David Harlow, host and health care law consultant. In the interview, Loew describes Inspire’s patient and caregiver members as a “rich and largely underutilized sources of expertise” about disease conditions and treatments, including medications. Access to this wealth of information requires profound respect for those owning it. “The Inspire community was created to meet the need people have to find information about their conditions from other people living with the [...]