Press Release: "Antidote Technologies Taps Into Storytelling for Clinical Trials Day"
Digital Health Company Harnesses the Power of Stories to Keep Patients at the Center of Research
New York (May 21, 2018) — In recognition of Clinical Trials Day today, Antidote Technologies, a digital health company dedicated to accelerating medical innovation, has launched a new initiative to explore the impact of sharing real-life stories of patients, caregivers, hospitals, and nonprofit organizations, through various mediums. The goal is twofold: one, to drive patient awareness of clinical trials as a strong and appealing care option; and two, to reinforce with researchers the need to include patient voices in the research study process.
For patients, sharing stories can be therapeutic, and hearing them can inspire much needed participation. An indication of this: the an NIH study showed that 85% of cancer patients surveyed were either unaware or unsure of the option to participate in research studies at the time of their diagnoses. If they had known, 75% would have been willing to enroll [1]. The implication: if patients know what clinical trials are, what to expect from medical research, and how to get involved, they’ll be more apt to participate.
And for researchers, to accelerate drug development, it’s important to understand how patients and caregivers experience their disease. Hearing patient stories allows researchers to keep the patient at the center as they design clinical trials to ensure that protocols are acceptable and results are meaningful to patients. Embracing patient stories also encourages empathy towards patients as stakeholders and not as subjects in the research process.
To this end, Antidote has spent the month of May sharing stories about the patient/caregiver experience and how it can impact research and accelerate medical breakthroughs.
“We’re a company creating clinical trial matching technology, but we also understand that a big part of matching patients to trials is takes the patient experience into consideration,” said Grace McElroy, VP of Partnerships and Communications at Antidote. “We believe that the best way to do this is by encouraging patients to share their experiences with other patients and researchers, in their own words.”
Though Antidote’s stories come from a diverse group of individuals and organizations, they’re linked by testimony that speaks to the resilience and hope guiding patients and caregivers coping with the challenges of illness. Visit Antidote’s website to read, watch, or listen to the stories of the following:
- Nina Beaty: an artist, art therapist, and cancer survivor who owes her life to an immunotherapy trial. When words failed, Nina shared the story of her experience with cancer through painting and illustration.
- Regina Holliday: a patient advocate who, fueled by her own struggles to obtain proper care for her dying husband, created the Walking Gallery of Healthcare, a “loose confederation of like-minded people trying to change the world.”
- Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA): a national comprehensive cancer care network that has worked to hear and share the patient voice through a partnership with StoryCorps, among other initiatives.
- Ed Gavagan: a victim of gang violence who coped with PTSD by sharing his story through high-profile international storytelling platforms. He offers advice for other patients interested in doing the same.
- Shanelle Gabriel: a woman living with lupus, who doesn’t let it stop her from sharing her incredible voice, maintaining a fit lifestyle, and advocating for minority health.
- Ira and Sandy Asherman: a couple who have been married for over 40 years. An Alzheimer’s diagnosis has only deepened their love, despite the toll that the disease can take on both patient and caregiver.
- Turning Point: a documentary that shares the story of hope and disappointment in the effort to develop a drug that works for Alzheimer’s, created in conjunction with the BrightFocus Foundation.
Antidote will continue to actively seek stories of patient and caregiver experiences and share the most compelling ones throughout the year. To learn more about this project, or for more information on how Antidote connects patients to researchers, visit https://www.antidote.me/stories-of-the-patient-experience-from-patients-themselves.
About Antidote
Antidote is a digital health company on a mission to accelerate the breakthroughs of new treatments by bridging the gap between medical research and the people who need it. In a world where 80% of clinical trials are delayed or closed due to lack of participants [2], Antidote uses cutting-edge technology to match the right patients with the right trials, helping medical researchers make faster progress, and offering new treatment options to patients. Antidote Match, the company’s unique trial matching tool, currently powers clinical trial search for more than 250 patient communities and health portals — bringing clinical trial awareness, matching, and access to more than 15 million patients a month. Antidote was launched as TrialReach and is based in the US and UK. For more information, please visit www.antidote.me.
Media Contact
Lisa Conroy
Director of Communications, Antidote
215-872-2917
[1] Hess, J. Web Based Recruitment. Retrieved from https://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/portfolios/web-based-patient-recruitment-white-paper/.
[2] NIH. The Need for Awareness of Clinical Trials. Retrieved from https://www.nih.gov/health-information/nih-clinical-research-trials-you/need-awareness-clinical-research.