PatientsLikeMe is finally like me.

As a longtime fan of PatientsLikeMe*, I was ecstatic to see an email from them last week stating that Crohn’s disease sufferers are now an inclusive part of their patient-community. Upon further investigation, it looks like they opened the flood gates to patients with any condition on April 11 — the site was previously only available to 22 types of patients (including ALS, Parkinson’s disease, HIV, depression, epilepsy, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis and organ transplants).

I’ve been playing a bit on the site, particularly this weekend, and am truly impressed by not only the community, but the tools available for real-life guidance in the day-to-day life of a professional patient like me. Subscribing to other patients with similar profiles is super intriguing also. But the amazing thing that you must see right now is this data visualization of patients viewing other patients: patientslikeme.com/elapsed_profile_views (crazy, right?)

More to come as I add to my profile and meet new members. Really incredible stuff. Well done PLM!

*Wondering what PatientsLikeMe actually is? They are the “leading online community for people with life-changing conditions. Patients embrace the open sharing of personal health data because they believe that information can change the course of their disease.”