Sam: Steroids and Me

Despite the dozens of steroid-toxicities that have been recognized, documented and catalogued in medical literature over the past several decades, there has been no curated resource to help patients understand and manage their own health in the face of steroids. Many patients report that they feel alone on their steroid journey.

Short for “Steroids and Me,” Sam is a collaboration among academic physicians, patients, patient advocacy groups and industry leaders to develop a patient-focused program to meet that need.

Education and companionship to support shared decision-making

Developed by Harvard clinicians and a global team of scientists, steroid-treated patients and doctors, Sam provides educational resources and practical support.

Sam also features a simple Journey tracking tool; patients can record their mood and health concerns as they happen, and easily share that information with clinicians at their next appointment.

Sam prepares patients to work with their doctors to make the best treatment decisions for their care.

Developed by patients and doctors

for patients and doctors

Sam is a first-in-class digital companion to support patients on their steroid journeys.^[1]

Sam’s development plan was divided into three phases:

A search for patient-focused resources
A patient and clinician needs assessment
Development of a digital companion

The needs assessment consisted of international roundtables of clinicians, patient advocacy group leaders and industry representatives, as well as discussions with patients that identified major unmet needs. Critically, many patients felt alone dealing with steroid-toxicity, expressed they were under-informed, and many had suffered damage that could have been prevented.

The development phase consisted of building a digital companion to house written and video educational content derived from interviews with more than a dozen leading international clinicians. Committed to keeping patients at the heart of the endeavor, the Sam development team engaged a 34-member patient panel in one-on-one meetings for user testing and patient journey validation.

Steroids and Me (Sam): the only platform designed to educate and equip steroid-treated patients

A patient-focused approach to optimize steroid use

Education and companionship to support shared decision-making

Developed by patients and doctors

for patients and doctors

Visit Sam

Sam is provided free of charge to patients

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