As we support the development of treatments for Batten disease, Taylor’s Tale continues to advocate on behalf of the rare disease community. We believe that a cure for one is a cure for all.
So when the opportunity to engage the rare disease community in important work that will help patients around the globe presented itself, Taylor’s Tale didn’t hesitate to sign on.
Taylor’s Tale Co-Founder and Vice President Laura King Edwards shares her advice as a rare disease patient advocate during the North Carolina Rare Disease Patient Information Portal focus group held in Charlotte on May 15.
Taylor’s Tale Hosts Focus Group
The first tangible result of this commitment was sponsorship of a focus group with 13 rare disease patients and advocates on May 15.
The focus group, which included Taylor’s Tale President Sharon King and Vice President Laura King Edwards, addressed a major initiative called the North Carolina Rare Disease Patient Information Portal, a web-based, open-access portal.
The portal offers open and easy access to rare disease patients and their families and caregivers as they seek information and identify valuable resources. As a one-stop solution, the portal reduces the time-consuming need to monitor the avalanche of data shared across the internet and via clinical literature.
The portal also addresses the human need for people to connect as they engage in the constantly changing journey of rare disease treatment. The goal is to replace isolation with a supportive community of people who understand the challenges and needs of rare disease patients and their families.
The portal is a component of the North Carolina Rare Disease InfoHub, a major project led by a collaboration of the state’s universities to accelerate innovation in rare disease treatments and to improve care for rare disease patients. The InfoHub leverages the power of advanced computing and big data analytics to search, organize and present medical and treatment resources via its Patient Information Portal.
InfoHub Seeks Rare Disease Patients’ Feedback
The InfoHub’s Patient Information Portal is scheduled for its official launch in late 2018. During the development phase, the rare disease community is actively engaged to ensure the portal is easy to navigate and provides quality information that meets their needs.
Rare disease patients and their families and caregivers are encouraged to share how the site could be more responsive and useful. Visitors are encouraged to access the portal at https://rarediseases.oscar.ncsu.edu to leave comments in feedback boxes.
For more information about the Patient Information Portal focus groups, please email ncrarediseasecoalition@gmail.com.
Taylor’s Tale President Leads Focus on Patient Needs
The North Carolina Rare Disease Coalition is coordinating a series of Patient Information Portal focus groups across North Carolina. As chair of the Coalition and president of Taylor’s Tale, Sharon King assumed a leadership role in ensuring that the InfoHub project always keeps the patient front and center in its work.
Taylor’s Tale President Sharon King (center) listens during a North Carolina Patient Information Portal focus group in Charlotte.
“The patients are the real experts in their diseases,” King said. “They live with disorders every day that healthcare professionals may only see once in their careers. It is vitally important that the portal connects people and provides efficient access to resources that will provide answers to inquiries regarding the diagnosis, treatment and quality of life of rare disease patients.
“We are conducting focus groups in rural and urban areas and inviting people with a variety of backgrounds and diseases,” King said. “Rare diseases know no geographic, ethnic, racial, gender or income barriers. They are equal-opportunity destroyers of lives. As patient advocates in partnership with academia, industry and government, we are making real progress in providing real treatments for real people.”