Figure 1 is thrilled to announce that we have hit over 100,000 medical cases on our platform. That’s 100,000 real-world cases from our incredible community of healthcare professionals around the globe. To put that in perspective, that means that our community has built the world’s largest case library. This achievement also marks the first step towards Figure 1’s next ambitious goal: to collect 1 million cases, and become the world’s most comprehensive source of real world medical knowledge.
That’s right, our next goal is 1 million cases.
We want to continue increasing the amount of medical cases available on our platform in order to provide the most robust online learning and sharing experience for healthcare professionals (HCPs). Our desire is to offer a diverse collection of unique cases, insightful commentary and discussion about case knowledge and diagnostic learnings, that helps HCPs in their day-to-day work. Like having the world’s largest teaching hospital in your back pocket, Figure 1 provides knowledge from and access to literally thousands of minds across the globe helping solve medical cases.
Healthcare practitioners use Figure 1 to teach, learn, and grow. We are so proud of the fact that — every day — Figure 1 helps physicians, nurse practitioners, and other healthcare professionals access the case knowledge they need to build their diagnostic capabilities, improve patient outcomes, and save lives.
Figure 1 All Around the World
As an online platform that is accessible across the globe, Figure 1 is especially valuable to healthcare professionals in remote communities and under-resourced facilities. The access these remote HCPs have to case knowledge and comments from their peers within the platform highlights just how effective insight and discussion can be in patient care.
One example of Figure 1 connecting disparate HCPs around the world hinges on the power of our community to leverage the knowledge amassed and referenced in our cases.
It started with a Figure 1 member physician in India . They had a number of patients suffering from severe deep tissue wounds. Figure 1 members suggested a treatment of medical-grade honey, which has natural antibacterial qualities to help protect the body against damage from bacteria, can boost production of special cells that repair tissue damaged by infection, and has anti-inflammatory properties to ease pain and inflammation.
Unfortunately, the physician did not have access to medical-grade honey. So instead, they decided to treat the wounds with a regular application of consumer-grade honey, and record their findings on Figure 1.
Over the course of several months, they provided regular updates on each of these patients, and the incredible results the honey treatment made to their flesh wounds. Photo after photo, Figure 1 members saw the patients heal in incredible ways.
Flash forward several years to an American nurse practitioner working in a rural clinic in Haiti, another instance of working with reduced facilities and resources. This nurse practitioner was a member of Figure 1 who used the platform as a means to secure diagnostic help from our worldwide medical community. They posted a case seeking assistance in the treatment of severe burns on a 16 year old. There were several non-healing areas, and skin grafting was not an option in the area.
Commenters suggested, based in part on the strength of the physician’s earlier case history, that the nurse practitioner try applying consumer-grade honey to the wound to salve the burns. Initially reluctant, the nurse practitioner decided to follow the advice. After several weeks of dressing the wound in a honey and petroleum mixture, the nurse practitioner saw rapid healing that they described as “amazing” and “a miracle.”
Not only did the community provide the initial idea, but they could reference the work done by the physician to show the nurse practitioner in Haiti what to expect from the application of honey on severe wounds. And it did not rely on the physician sharing that information directly — the community members who saw and commented on the earlier case connected the dots using Figure 1’s communication tools.
They were, in essence, a real-time symposium able to call upon the wealth of case knowledge stored on Figure 1 and leverage it using their own experiences and perspectives.
This means that any HCPs in remote or under-serviced areas now have the ability to tap into not only a wealth of information, but also access the ideas and insights of peers all around the globe. A good idea on Figure 1 can organically spread from India to Haiti to anywhere it’s needed.
Healthcare Practitioners in the Know
Alongside access to knowledge, Figure 1 also provides a rapid, centralized, and curated source for instantaneous information that moves faster than the news media. Healthcare practitioners well understand the need for speed. When it comes to a correct diagnosis, applying the best treatment, or communicating sensitive information to a patient so they can make an informed decision — time matters.
With widespread public health concerns such as SARS, MERS, and the COVID-19 pandemic, Figure 1 saw the trends before the public. Figure 1 connects professionals who need to know now. HCPs on Figure 1 are able to respond immediately to unfolding health crises and inform peers within their community, region, or the wider world as swiftly as uploading a case. With constantly changing symptoms making diagnosis difficult, healthcare professionals can get the knowledge they need to make informed decisions and understand what is happening out there right now. Before the World Health Organization, before the news, Figure 1 is there with constantly connected crowdsourced knowledge from around the world.
This capability makes Figure 1 the pulse of medical information, and an early warning system for getting ahead of the next public health crisis.
What’s Next for Figure 1
If we accomplished all of this with the first 100,000 medical cases, just imagine what the community can do with a million. We want more unique and rare cases, so that healthcare professionals will find a variety of medical cases to assist in their diagnosis every single time. We want more real-time information coming in from every part of the world, to act as an early warning detection system that operates as fast as healthcare professionals on the ground can witness and record what they experience. And we want to expand our case knowledge and learning opportunities so that HCPs can keep themselves up to date and informed using real-world case studies and inventive material shared by their peers.
We want Figure 1 in the back pocket of every healthcare professional to make it the best possible tool of information, awareness, and case knowledge.
And the only way we can do that is with your help.
Josh Wildstein, CEO of Figure 1, explains: “The value of the knowledge we’ve collected grows each time we connect more practitioners with new cases. Each new case provides insight and learning opportunities for healthcare professionals around the world. Whether you have dozens of cases to share, or a single unique case that will add to the conversation, Figure 1 is interested in your contribution. Please join us in sharing your wisdom with the world. Let’s get to 1 million cases, together.”
If you have a unique medical case from your own history, if you have experiences you’d like to share via comments, or if you have questions that need answers, we welcome your contribution to Figure 1.
Even a single case, shared on Figure 1, can make a world of difference.
Published June 6, 2022
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