A New York Times story reported on how several private companies are collecting patient data and genetic information for clinical trials in hope that it may assist their recruitment and analysis efforts.
However some critics argue that the process may be flawed:
"The Web offers great potential to reach large numbers of patients quickly, but self-reported data creates considerable research dilemmas, said Dr. James Potash, an associate professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Dr. Potash cited two studies that examined the quality of information reported online by depressed patients. Patients reported their diagnosis online; doctors then interviewed them to confirm it. In one study, only two-thirds of the online responses were validated; in the other study, it was three-fourths."
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