What do all of the things I've covered in this blog really mean for you and I? Not a whole lot at the moment unless we're planning on joining Patients Like Me and becoming active participants (which I have done, as a matter of fact), so what about the future? Social network sites aren't going anywhere, that's for sure, but what about a kind of network that is so personal, and depends so heavily on life changing conditions that so many human beings have?
My experience has been nothing but positive, though it does take a bit of commitment to keep updating your every feeling and symptom for the days you log on (which is hopefully often, considering the information pool they need for your profile to make a difference in their data analysis/recommender system). The moderators have sent me about 3 or 4 messages welcoming me to the site, and there are about 2,000 people out there with the same condition as me (which I won't get into, because I'm a hypocrite). It's easy to navigate and there couldn't be more useful forum posts on any other site (unless you're looking for tips on how to tie off a scarf after knitting one).
This all points to accessibility. Accessibility to medicine, accessibility to support, accessibility to progress charts, accessibility to new studies - and this suggests that the user is taking medicine into his or her own hands by way of writing on the web. Accessibility to feelings, to sharing, and to other people on a website like PLM will lead to more educated and more participatory patients.
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