Patient associations and organizations have emerged in different parts of the world as central actors in the opening up of new spaces for participation and deliberation in the field of health, developing innovative ways of intervention, mediating between heterogeneous participants in the health field, promoting and organizing platforms and coalitions on a national and international level and taking an active role in areas previously reserved for specialists and professionals, such as research. This article presents research currently underway into patient associations in Portugal, as part of wider research into new actors in the health arena in the European context.