Society for Participatory Medicine

What Society for Participatory Medicine does

The Society for Participatory Medicine is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2009 and headquartered in the Boston, Massachusetts area (Newton Highlands mailing address). It was established to carry forward the work of Dr. Tom Ferguson, who coined the term "e-patient," and operates as a membership-based advocacy, education, and research body promoting collaborative healthcare among patients, families, clinicians, payers, researchers, and policymakers across dozens of countries.

Its core products include the peer-reviewed Journal of Participatory Medicine published in partnership with JMIR Publications, the e-Patients Blog (operating since 2009), members-only SPM Forums, the Participatory Medicine Manifesto, and the CHAMP (Collaborative Healthcare Action Measurement Platform) survey instrument — its signature measurement project scheduled for regional launch in 2026 with planned national expansion. The organization does not develop commercial technology products.

Revenue is generated through individual memberships ($50/year or $300 lifetime), tiered corporate memberships (Innovator $500 to Gold $20,000 per year), tax-deductible donations, CLE event sponsorships and registration fees, and journal-related income. Distribution is primarily digital and global via participatorymedicine.org, the membership portal, virtual and in-person events, and an active multi-platform social presence.

Name

Society for Participatory Medicine

Legal name

Society for Participatory Medicine

Website

https://participatorymedicine.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Society for Participatory Medicine is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2009 that convenes patients, caregivers, clinicians, and policymakers worldwide to advance collaborative, participatory healthcare through its journal, blog, forums, and the CHAMP measurement platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Advocacy and Participatory Medicine Services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Other Individual and Family Services (62419)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Patient Advocacy, Navigation & Access to Care (BPAGACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Patient Community, Peer Support & Social Engagement (HLACAEAK), Patient Education, Content & Personalized Journey Orchestration (HLACAEAE), Healthcare & Life Sciences PR (MPAAADAD)

Keywords

• Patient engagement
• Participatory healthcare
• Shared decision making
• Healthcare advocacy
• E-patient community

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Memberships: Annual individual memberships at $50/year and lifetime memberships at $300 one-time fee. Individual memberships provide access to online forums, events, patient travel awards, discounts on conference registration, and use of SPM Member Logo.
2. Corporate & Organization Memberships: Corporate membership levels including Gold ($20,000/year), Silver ($10,000/year), Bronze ($7,500/year), Essential Sponsorship ($3,000/year for organizations with 25 or fewer employees or under $3M revenue), and Innovator ($500/year for organizations with 5 or fewer employees or under $500,000 revenue). Membership fees are tax-deductible donations.
3. Donations: Tax-deductible donations to support research, education, and policy change for participatory medicine. The society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
4. Event Sponsorships & Registration: Revenue from Creative Learning Exchange (CLE) events, conference sponsorships, and registration fees. Discounted sponsorship rates provided to corporate members.
5. Journal Publications: The Journal of Participatory Medicine is published in partnership with JMIR Publications. The journal accepts submissions and publishes research on participatory medicine.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels14 records

Core offering

The Society for Participatory Medicine is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization that promotes participatory medicine by connecting patients, families, clinicians, payers, researchers, and policy leaders as partners. It delivers its mission through individual and corporate membership programs, the peer-reviewed Journal of Participatory Medicine, the e-Patients Blog, member forums, conferences and Creative Learning Exchange events, the Participatory Medicine Manifesto, and the CHAMP measurement platform. Core deliverables are educational content, community, advocacy, and research resources supporting collaborative healthcare.

Product overview

The Society for Participatory Medicine operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs and services centered on promoting collaborative healthcare. The core offerings include the peer-reviewed Journal of Participatory Medicine (published with JMIR Publications), the CHAMP survey measurement platform, and the e-Patients Blog. Additional services include membership programs (individual and corporate tiers), SPM Forums for member discussions, Patient Travel Awards for conference attendance, and Creative Learning Exchange events. The organization connects patients, families, clinicians, and policymakers through these platforms to advance participatory medicine principles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CHAMP (Collaborative Healthcare Action Measurement Platform): SPM's signature project to help measure participatory medicine's impact, gathering nationwide data on patient and healthcare provider behaviors.
• e-Patients Blog
• Journal of Participatory Medicine

Products and services

• Journal of Participatory Medicine

Quantifiable outcome

• A 4-year study showed more engaged diabetes patients had better blood pressure, cholesterol, and fewer hospital visits
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Health UnioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth Union is a sponsor of the Society for Participatory Medicine and a collaborator on the CHAMP project. They also partnered with SPM to develop the Patient Leader Certification Program, a first-of-its-kind certification program promoting responsible patient leadership and complementary social health and participatory medicine movements.
• Progress for Informatics & Energy FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as an organizational supporter and partner of the Society for Participatory Medicine.
• Beryl InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner for CHAMP (Collaborative Healthcare Action Measurement Platform). The Beryl Institute focuses on patient experience and published the PX Pulse survey data that SPM references in its research.
• Finn PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner for CHAMP project, contributing to the development and implementation of the measurement platform.
• OpenNotescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner for CHAMP project. OpenNotes is a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that promotes transparent healthcare through shared clinical notes.
• NRC HealthminorOthersPast event sponsor of the Society for Participatory Medicine.
• evidationminorOthersPast event sponsor of the Society for Participatory Medicine.
• The Patient ExperienceminorOthersPast event sponsor of the Society for Participatory Medicine.
• American College of RadiologyminorOthersPast sponsor listed on organizational supporters page.
• PatientsLikeMeminorOthersPast sponsor of the Society for Participatory Medicine.
• InspireminorOthersPast sponsor of the Society for Participatory Medicine.
• WEGO HealthminorOthersPast sponsor of the Society for Participatory Medicine.
• KairosminorOthersPast sponsor of the Society for Participatory Medicine.
• Salem OaksminorOthersPast sponsor of the Society for Participatory Medicine.
• Northeastern UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with SPM to produce the MS Patient Journey conference (March 2025) at Northeastern University's Cabral Center. Also partnered for the Health Equity Through Participatory Medicine workshop (November 2023).

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• JMIR Publications: A leading open-access digital health research publisher. As SPM's journal publishing partner, it is comparable as a peer-reviewed academic publisher in the digital health and patient engagement space.
• HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society): A large global nonprofit focused on transforming healthcare through information and technology. Comparable as a much larger healthcare membership organization with corporate tiers, journals, conferences, and digital health advocacy.

Direct peers

• Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA): A medical society advancing healthcare epidemiology and infection prevention. Comparable as a membership-based healthcare society publishing journals, hosting conferences, and advocating for clinical practice standards.
• Inspire: An online health community platform connecting patients and caregivers across conditions. As a past SPM sponsor operating in the patient engagement and online community space, it shares SPM's mission of empowering patients through community.
• Health Union: A digital health company building online patient communities and content. As a core SPM partner that co-developed the Patient Leader Certification Program, it is a directly comparable peer in patient community building and engagement.
• The Beryl Institute: A global community of practice focused on improving the patient experience in healthcare. As a coalition partner on SPM's CHAMP project and a similarly structured nonprofit membership organization, it is a directly comparable peer in patient experience research and community building.
• PatientsLikeMe: An online patient community platform for sharing health data and experiences. As a past SPM sponsor in the patient community and self-management space, it operates with overlapping patient empowerment and peer support objectives.
• National Patient Advocate Foundation: A national nonprofit advocating for patient access to affordable, quality healthcare. Comparable as a 501(c)(3) healthcare nonprofit focused on patient advocacy, policy, and access to care.
• OpenNotes: A Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded initiative promoting transparent healthcare through shared clinical notes. As a core CHAMP coalition partner, it operates with similar advocacy, measurement, and dissemination goals targeting patient-clinician transparency.
• WEGO Health: A network of patient leaders and influencers in healthcare. As a past SPM sponsor and a peer organization connecting patient advocates, it overlaps directly in the patient leadership and patient engagement space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/s4pm
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/S4PM
• Facebookfacebook.com/participatorymedicine
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/groups/1835324
• Instagraminstagram.com/participatorymedicine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Society for Participatory Medicine