Democratization of Human Clinical Research: How Peer Production is Changing the Research Paradigm

Abstract

In the healthcare industry, it is and has traditionally been assumed that care providers, researchers and industry executives are more expert medical innovators than are patient “user innovators” – those who are themselves afflicted by medical problems needing solutions. This assumption has led to a top-down model of innovation favoring large organizations such as hospital networks, academic medical centers, pharmaceutical companies and the like. There is however strong evidence that this top-down, hierarchical model is quietly and systematically being challenged in some areas of medicine, just as it is in many other fields today. Patients – often the end users of medical innovations – are becoming increasingly empowered and effective innovators in activity areas ranging from innovation development to clinical trials. In this paper, we explore the evidence and argue that recognizing, supporting, and integrating this increasingly powerful source of clinical trial innovation can yield great dividends for all participants in the healthcare system.

Keywords: innovation, user innovation