Last weekend I had the pleasure of hosting a Google Hangout with the ePatients that will be featured on the panel that I am moderating on the opening day of Medicine X. We spent an hour or so getting to know each other and discussing potential topics for our panel. One of the things I really want to focus on is engaging with the audience. There will be microphones in the main room and questions will be fielded from Twitter throughout our 45 minutes, and I’m looking forward to the challenge of giving 4 ePatients their opportunity to shine while also setting the stage for the rest of the conference and giving people the chance to ask their own questions. It’s a lot to squeeze in, but it’s definitely doable.

I won’t spoil the planned discussion points just yet, but I want you all to meet the panel.

As always, you can view the entire schedule for the conference at medicinex.stanford.edu.

Jody Schoger is one of the co-founders of the #bscm chat. Those of you familiar with #dsma already have an idea of what that’s about. Follow her on Twitter at @jodyms and check our her blog at http://womenwcancer.blogspot.com/.

Joe Riffe is on Twitter at @DirteMedic, blogs at http://prostheticmedic.blogspot.com/, and as you might be able to infer, is a paramedic with a prosthetic leg. He’s had quite the journey.

Emily Bradley, who you might recognize from the latest episode of Just Talking, is on Twitter at @chroniccurve and writes at http://chroniccurve.tumblr.com.

Erin Moore is the mother of 4 children, ages 5 and under. Her 3 year old son, Drew, has cystic fibrosis. She’s heavily involved in patient advocacy on the cystic fibrosis front (and I’m hoping to get her on the podcast soon so you can hear her full story). She’s on Twitter at @ekeeleymoore and writes at http://66roses.blogspot.com/.

You should check them out. These people are highly motivated and super passionate. It’s inspiring, really.