The biomedical research model has a blind spot. People living with a condition or disease are traditionally seen as passive sources of data, not active participants in the research. We as a society miss out on promising avenues of inquiry. It’s time to widen our lens. On August 12, I’ll moderate a discussion about how […]
peer-to-peer health care
How peer-to-peer health advice can help people take their meds on time (and so much more)
(Yes, it’s the third post in 5 days from me, but when you’ve got cool stuff to share, why wait?) Matthew Zachary‘s podcast, Out of Patients, is one of my favorites because he brings his whole self to health care discussions, as you’ll hear in our conversation. It was a pleasure to unpack my latest […]
Tracking the trackers
UPDATE: On August 12, I’ll moderate a discussion about prioritizing patient engagement and inclusion of patient-generated COVID-19 data in clinical registries. It is being offered free and open to the public. Read a preview post and register here for the webinar. Every day I see a new example of a survey or other tool to […]
Pandemic problem-solving
The COVID19 pandemic is forcing everyone to learn new skills on the fly. Clinicians are teaching each other how to hotwire a ventilator to serve more than one patient. People are 3D printing spare parts for medical equipment and learning how to sew protective masks. Parents are sharing strategies for convincing their teenagers to stay home – and […]
Surviving a pandemic like an artist
Through her work as a film-maker, Maggie Whittum helps the rest of us make sense of this upside-down world we find ourselves in. And she reminds us that, unfortunately, this disorientation is familiar to people who survive stroke. Andrew Simonet, founder and director of Artists U, recently wrote an essay entitled, “This is What We […]
Why entrepreneurs should listen to patients & caregivers
I am thrilled to share this excerpt from the Harvard Business Review article I wrote, “How Chronic-Disease Patients Are Innovating Together Online”: The internet gives us virtually unlimited access to each other. That deceptively simple insight is an untapped opportunity in health care. When companies are searching for their next idea, they should look to […]






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