Patient Innovation - Crowdsourcing Health Solutions

These days user innovation appears in many sectors and areas but so far it’s not in place as it should be. A groundbreaking example of user innovation is the Portuguese non-profit project Patient Innovation (www.patient-innovation.com).

Probably this is the first time you - as the reader of this blog post - have the chance to discover a real solution for your need - generated by innovation!

What is more valuable to you than your health? There is no question that medical science is developing rapidly and sometimes one might think that soon all diseases will be curable. But for most patients it is not a question of what is possible in the future, because most patients have problems right now. The fact that there might already be a solution to one’s problem on the other side of the world (and probably the patient doesn’t even have notice about it) or that a solution might come up in the close future is not helpful for patients with every day disorders.

This is where Patient Innovation steps in. The Internet platform connects people and institutions regarding their diseases. Patients can provide their individual solutions to specific issues to other community members or search for solutions other patients came up with. Patients of chronic diseases have developed a significant number of innovative treatments and medical devices to help them cope with their health condition. For example, in the case of rare diseases, some patients have developed innovative solutions for themselves. The knowledge is valuable for the community even if the solutions did not work as intended: other patients may jump-in to give their feedback or improve them.

Patients create their own profile choosing the degree of detail describing their diseases and solutions and they can join patient groups regarding their diseases.

For an example one of the highly frequented groups is HIV and Aids, patients will find here treatment advice and information about the latest development of medications.

The Idea of Patient Innovation is simple and convincing, and there is one significant distinction from the many existing crowdsourcing solutions that are already out – this one increases common welfare.