Smart Patients

For the past couple of weeks, I've been working with the folks at Smart Patients to start a community for Cystic Fibrosis patients and caregivers. Smart Patients just launched this clinical trial search tool (https://www.smartpatients.com/cystic-fibrosis/trials) that I think is fantastic. While researchers and scientists may not love the idea of patients talking to one another about trials, it is happening and in my opinion it is critically important for them to both be aware of and appreciate. This peer-to-peer awareness and recruitment can improve the quantity and quality of participation by empowering patients. We can easily search for clinical trials, and rather than waiting for our doctor to decide to make us aware of one, our community can. And we talk about it! Smart patients is innovating around ways to help the rest of the healthcare system learn from patients. Imagine working alongside doctors and researchers to design clinical trials instead of just being participants in them! We can help to advance the learning!! If you're a CF patient or parent or caregiver, join us on Smart Patients  and lets get ready to change the world.