CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Walgreens has partnered with PatientsLikeMe, a patient information and social network, to allow its pharmacy customers to share their drug therapy experiences online.

Cambridge, Mass.-based PatientsLikeMe said Wednesday that now anyone researching a medication or filling a prescription on Walgreens.com can access a snapshot showing how their prescribed medication has impacted other patients on that therapy, including medication side effects, as reported by PatientsLikeMe members.

PatientsLikeMe reported that it’s the first featured external contributor to the new Walgreens Health Dashboard, a personalized health information offering. Walgreens can access PatientsLikeMe content to share information that may be of interest to the drug chain’s patients based on their individual medication needs.

"Leveraging patient perspectives and experiences through Walgreens Health Dashboard provides our patients with helpful insight into their medications and overall therapy management," Adam Pellegrini, divisional vice president of digital health at Walgreens. "Our collaboration with PatientsLikeMe underscores the power of social support and shared experiences on a wellness journey."

Walgreens.com now features patient-reported information from PatientsLikeMe on the top side effects of medications and their severity. This example shows patients’ experience with Gabapentin, a medication often used to treat pain in conditions like fibromyalgia.

PatientsLikeMe also noted that the agreement marks the first time it has integrated its data on another company’s website. The free online network, with more than 300,000 members, enables patients with chronic conditions to track their health, connect with others and contribute data for research. 

The PatientsLikeMe-sourced information is updated daily with new patient reports and covers many medications available at Walgreens pharmacies.

"We want to help patients wherever they are so they can be better informed about the treatments they’re taking and make more informed health decisions," stated Michael Evers, executive vice president of marketing and patient advocacy at PatientsLikeMe. "We’re thrilled to be working with the nation’s largest drug store chain. Our work with Walgreens will give their patients important insights from people taking both simple and complex medications. It can also help enrich our treatment data should Walgreens patients decide to join our community."