The members of PatientsLikeMe share their experiences 
anecdotally as well as quantify them - breaking down their 
symptoms and treatments into hard data. They note what 
hurts, where and for how long. They list drugs, dosages and 
how well they help. All this gets compiled, aggregated and 
crunched into tidy bar graphs and progress curves by the 
software behind the site. Members of PatientsLikeMe are 
creating a rich database of disease treatment and patient 
experience.
The company, financed by private investors, eschews 
advertising; the business model seeks to exploit the value 
of the databank itself. The company expects that the data 
will generate insights with considerable scientific  and 
economic  value