Click here to have a look

PainFriends.com is an organisation that has been developed to cater for the social needs of:

• Sufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome and/or chronic pain;

• Carers of these chronic pain and chronic fatigue sufferers; and

• Health Care Professionals.

A joint venture between The Gideon Lang Research Foundation and JSP Webtech has pioneered this new website.  

Features for Members

Far more than just another medical resource, this high-tech site also caters to social and psychological needs, providing online chat, personal messaging and much more, such that sufferers and their carers can develop their own support community.

The idea is to have a high-tech support site with peer-to-peer chat that is fast, efficient and user friendly; a site designed to efficiently manage a massive member database such that anyone in the world can log-on, find other sufferers and carers of chronic pain and chronic fatigue, chat computer-to-computer within minutes, have a forum to view their ideas, thoughts feelings, stories and upcoming events, as well as having the ability to search for relevant medical and health documents.

Members will be able to search the database for others with similar interests or afflictions. The search criteria will be based on the needs of sufferers as well as their carers, utilizing detailed profiles, preferences and photos. This is seen as the key success factor for the website, as many sufferers of CFS are house bound and an outlet or pen-friend such as that provided by PainFriends.com would significantly improve the quality of their lives. Additionally, sufferers and carers will have the ability to search for and communicate with health care professionals.

An online documents and research section will be a major part of PainFriends.com. All financial members will have access to two types of documents:

1.    An open forum where any member can post unqualified and non researched material that will provide information based on the member’s own experiences and opinions. A disclaimer will be displayed, stating that the views of the individual member that posted the article are not necessarily the views of the foundation or of PainFriends.com.

2.    A database of researched medical and health journal articles and documents that contain relevant, appropriate and accurate information.

PainFriends.com’s primary appeal is that once the member has paid their membership fees, there will be no upgrade in membership costs in order to get more information or access to different sections of the site, as is the case with a number of other sites. Once a member has logged in to the site and paid the initial membership fees all barriers and limitations are removed. This aspect is seen as paramount to the satisfaction of PainFriends.com members.

Finally, a feedback section will be included in order to ensure that the site continues to meet the needs and expectations of the members. This is also put in place to ensure members’ satisfaction.

In summary PainFriends.com members will be able to perform the following functions:

• 1-to-1 Online Communication – sufferers and carers will be able to communicate using personal messages and e-mail;

• Online Forums – any member can post unqualified and non researched material that will provide information based on the member’s own experiences and opinions;

•  Chat Rooms – where members can log on for online real time conversations with other members;

• Special Events – members will be able to post, invite and accept invitations to special events being held in their local areas by other members and health care professionals;

• Conduct research via medical reference data supplied by the University of Newcastle;

• Order health supplies  - vitamins, minerals and amino acid packs can be ordered online for home delivery;

• Useful Links section – a directory of other websites that relate to chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic pain, pain management or any other relevant or interesting sites; &

• Contact health care professionals.