Rare Patient Voice: How Chronic Illness Patients Earn $120 Per Hour Sharing Stories | Wes Michael

What if pharmaceutical companies actually listened to patients before launching treatments? This week, Kim welcomes  Wes Michael, president and founder of Rare Patient Voice, who's spent over 25 years proving that patient perspectives aren't just nice to have—they're essential to developing treatments that actually work.     In this empowering episode, Wes reveals:​🔴 $120/hour in checks: Not gift cards—"We can't pay rent with gift cards" changed compensation philosophy ​🟢 180,000 patients registered: 1,500 conditions from rare to "medium rare" to common—42-person team connecting voices to research  ​🟣 Kim's impact story: Hepatitis C survey led to first major TV commercials within a month of sharing patient perspective Chapters00:00 Valuing Patient Voices in Healthcare Research10:10 The Importance of Patient Perspectives19:45 Navigating the Diagnosis Journey25:09 Compensation and Support for ParticipantsConnect with Wes:💻 Website 📘 Facebook: Rare Patient Voice To support the show, visit our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linktree⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠This episode is brought to you by:The Chronic Truth Podcast, LLCHost/Executive Producer: Kimberly NashPodcast Creative Director  &  Co-Producer: Jay Wilson, for ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Podcast Mechanic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠