Prior research has shown that some patients and caregivers such as relatives are innovating in relation to their unmet medical needs. However, there is little evidence whether and how these ideas are later implemented into market-ready solutions and subsequently commercialized. We analyze cases...

Patients with rare diseases, as well as their caregivers, sometimes develop new solutions to deal with their health conditions but only a small fraction share the solution with their doctor or other health professionals. When the value of patient developed solutions is considered, the evidence...

Prior research has shown that some patients and caregivers such as relatives are innovating in relation to their unmet medical needs. However, there is little evidence whether and how these ideas are later implemented into market-ready solutions and subsequently commercialized. We analyze cases...

We investigate the motives and activities of individual user innovators in healthcare, focusing on patients of various diseases. More specifically we investigate the role of patients in the development of new treatments, therapies or medical devices (TT&MD). Whereas producers typically benefit...

We provide the first empirical exploration of disease-related innovation by patients and their caregivers. Our aims were to measure the frequency of innovation by these patients and their caregivers, and the improvement in well-being they experienced from using what they have developed. In...