Case Study: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Problem

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) has an unknown root cause, and may include environmental or genetic factors. Up to 90% of patients are undiagnosed and there is no approved treatment for this condition. However, some symptoms can be treated or managed to provide relief.

We partnered with a major sleep center in New York City. They were unable to recruit a single patient in the first year of enrollment due to the fact that all diagnosed patients were on disqualifying medications.

Our approach

We launched a campaign to raise awareness and build a community in New York City for undiagnosed women with CFS symptoms using 4 approaches:

1. Existing patients in the client network
2. Partnering with advocates to build a new support community
3. Raising awareness using targeted messaging and social networks
4. Scraping social media pages

By focusing on symptoms and offering resources, we engaged a broader population than was previously being reached. As they learned about the campaign, patients screened for and were connected with the clinical trial, growing the referral pipeline ten-fold.

Results

WeHealth connected 3,170 patients with Chronic Fatigue resources in 7 months, several thousand people shared our campaign in New York City, resulting in 116 eligible and interested patients screened for our client’s clinical trial. 9 have been successfully consented with several more in the pipeline awaiting consent. Our efforts improved the client’s rate of recruitment by more than 9X per month.