We're excited to announce the exciting and anticipated launch of HealthTree Foundation's HealthTree Research Hub. This portal uses cutting-edge technology to unite patients and researchers in order to accelerate cures and facilitate real-world data for researchers around the world. The Research Hub is being launched in multiple myeloma today. 

HealthTree Foundation Founder, Jenny Ahlstrom, shares more about the exciting launch in the video below. 

Check out the press release here or continue reading to learn more about this exciting advancement in myeloma research and technology. 

HealthTree Research Hub is an online research portal that facilitates real-world data (RWD) research. HealthTree Research Hub provides researchers access to over 14,000 myeloma patients who contribute anonymized data to the HealthTree Cure Hub patient portal.

This data includes electronically imported EHR data (labs, genetics, prior lines of therapy, outcome data, etc) as well as patient-contributed data such as patient-reported outcomes (PRO) and demographics.

Patients can also respond to investigator surveys or studies inside of HealthTree Cure Hub. The data is validated by a team of HealthTree medical professionals (also known as disease navigators.) 

The tool builds a living, ongoing, and interactive relationship between patients and researchers, opening revolutionary approaches to new research that save time, money, and lives. 

“HealthTree Research Hub is the only tool that enables access to larger, more comprehensive and constantly updated data sets,” said Jenny Ahlstrom, HealthTree CEO and Founder. ”Traditional RWD challenges of incomplete or inaccurate data, missing patient reported outcomes or lost-to-follow up issues are overcome because of the ongoing, interactive relationship HealthTree maintains with patients and its validation process.”  

Rafael Fonseca, MD and Chief Innovation Officer, Mayo Clinic, shares: 

“HealthTree Research Hub opens new doors to the research community by providing access to complete, validated RWD [real-world data] from both directly connected EHRs and patients themselves...[t]hank you HealthTree for building the tools we need to invite thousands of patients to contribute to research outside of clinical trials in order to drive faster cures.” 

In HealthTree Research Hub, myeloma investigators can perform data mining, chart reviews, synthetic control arm comparisons, or surveys and studies. Researchers are provided a login/password and R-studio research tools to analyze subsets of anonymized data based on project needs. 

“HealthTree had the financial resources, a willing virtual patient base and the research tools available so we could survey patients and gather their responses via an IRB approved protocol,” said Craig Hofmeister, MD, Emory University. “Their team worked collaboratively with us to create the survey, distribute it to the patients, analyze the results and craft the future publication. It's been a great experience for our team."

HealthTree Research Hub will facilitate over 100 research projects in the next 20 months for myeloma researchers. A call for multiple myeloma research proposals begins March 1, 2024. Any researcher who joins the HealthTree Research Network will be provided free access to the data. If you are a licensed physician treating multiple myeloma, you can start your application today here: Submit Myeloma Research Proposal

HealthTree Research Hub will be performing beta research projects in lymphoma, leukemia, and MPNs in 2024. 

If you are looking to participate in myeloma research as or on behalf of a myeloma patient, we invite you to do the following: 

1. Connect your medical records to our database in HealthTree Cure Hub today. It's quick and easy, and you can share your records with confidence that your personal information will be kept private. All information shared with researchers is anonymized. We value your privacy and your security. 

2. Stay tuned to our News Site during March, Myeloma Awareness Month. Our goal this month is to help you be aware of research opportunities for you and your doctor. We will publish articles each week with action steps on how to participate and allow others to do the same. Share these with those in your myeloma circles. 

3. Participate in surveys and studies within HealthTree Cure Hub. This can take 3-5 minutes of your time and influence the way that healthcare providers are treating myeloma patients. Join Cure Hub and start participating today.