Medscape: The next generation
June 4, 2009 – 7:49 am by Gina Monari
WebMD continues to stay ahead of the technology curve. As WebMD looks to the ongoing success of its consumer mobile application, the organization prepares to launch a mobile application for physicians with Medscape for iPhone and iPod Touch in June. WebMD Mobile has surpassed 500,000 downloads since its launch in November 2008 and continues to experience strong page views and user rates.
Medscape is WebMD’s professional network and is visited by more than 1.5 million physicians per month. The anticipated launch of the set of products and content on Medscape for iPhone and iPod Touch will facilitate high quality patient care on demand. Using Medscape’s experience working with the biopharmaceutical industry, programs are being created to reach the U.S. physician community, and the mobile application is extending this reach. The initial release is on the iPhone mobile platform, but the organization plans to explore opportunities on other platforms as well.
The ultimate goal of Medscape for iPhone and iPod Touch is to provide trusted health information to Medscape members whenever and wherever they need it. The Medscape mobile application offers a comprehensive set of resources that before now, have only been accessible through the Medscape Website. The Medscape Website is a unique resource because it offers physicians exceptional breadth and depth with content and applications.
“Our goal is to eventually provide members with the entire Medscape experience in a mobile format,” says Steve Zatz, M.D., executive VP, WebMD.
Medscape worked closely with physicians to understand the limitations of their existing drug reference resources and designed the mobile drug reference to address those limitations. The focus was on speed, comprehensiveness, and ease of use for Medscape for iPhone. The application is fast to load and fast to use.
Physicians, who routinely look up the same drugs, can add these drugs to their Saved list on Medscape. The next time the physician launches the application, they can click on the Saved icon and instantly access the most frequently referenced monographs. According to Dr. Zatz, this is a great time-saver and unique to Medscape for iPhone. In addition, there is a ‘type-ahead’ search so that doctors do not need to enter the full search term, but can quickly find what they are looking for by typing the first few characters.
The application is comprehensive. Medscape has one of the largest drug references for iPhone, with thousands of generic and brand name drugs and hundreds of herbs, supplements, foods, and antidotes.
“With Medscape for iPhone, physicians can rely on a single application for their drug database, drug interaction checker, the latest medical health news, continuing medical education content, and physician, pharmacy and hospital directory services through the WebMD Health Directory,” Dr. Zatz told Med Ad News.
The drug database contains hundreds of alternative medicines, including herbals, supplements, foods, and antidotes. These monographs include Suggested Dosing and Suggested Herbals along with extensive information found on drug monographs. This is especially helpful when trying to understand potential drug interactions of alternative medicines.
The organization plans to continue to invest in the Medscape mobile application. Members provide ideas and requests for features they would like to have ‘on the go’. The commitment to users is to continue to add to the functionality and content of all of the channels.
“Our mobile applications are another communication option for companies to reach physicians with targeted information and our goal is to make the WebMD/Medscape brand easily accessible when physicians are away from the desktop,” Dr. Zatz told Med Ad News. “Our focus right now is on implementing quality mobile resources and as we build a mobile user community, the commercial opportunities will follow.”
Any physician or professional who believes patients will see value in having Medscape’s trusted content at the point of care will most likely use the application. Medscape for iPhone has a well-designed drug interaction checker, making it easy to add drugs and check interactions.
“It’s powerful and convenient to have an up-to-date drug reference and interaction checker in the physician’s pocket,” Dr. Zatz says.
Physicians can quickly check for interactions between drugs, or check interactions for any combination of drugs, supplements, herbals, and/or foods. Physicians can input up to 30 drugs, supplements, herbals and/or foods at once. The interaction checker results are broken out into four different categories of severity: Contraindicated, Serious — Use Alternative, Significant — Monitor Closely, and Minor. Each interaction is described in detail and instructions provided. Physicians can access the interaction checker directly by selecting the icon or can launch it from a specific monograph they happen to be reviewing.
Medscape LLC, the affiliated accredited education provider company, has experience in developing and distributing online continuing medical education. WebMD’s Medscape is bringing this experience to mobile by producing continuing medical education designed for mobile use for doctors ‘on the go.’ In addition, Medscape CME Tracker tracks all of the continuing medical education physicians take on Medscape.com or Medscape mobile all in one place.
“As an example, news CME is perfect for mobile — it is typically 15 minute, ¼ credit activities and can be read ‘on-the-go’ when the physician has a short window of time,” Dr. Zatz says. “Further, the iPhone’s rich-media support enables images and tables that are imbedded in the activity content to be clearly visible.”
The other tools in Medscape for iPhone also appeal to physicians across the board. WebMD believes they will be excited to have the breadth of Medscape’s health news and content at their fingertips. MedscapeCME is also a feature that has broad appeal. This is because busy physicians only need 15 to 20 minutes and an iPhone or iPod Touch for up-to-date medical information
“As an Emergency Medicine physician in a busy ED the Medscape mobile app is incredibly useful as a quick reference,” says Joe Becker, MD Stanford University School of Medicine, Emergency Medicine. “The interface is efficient and user friendly, with easy access to frequently needed safety and dosing info, but as well provides for interaction checks whch are easily accomplished. Searching for meds is as well quick, easy and comprehensive. Medscape has become my go to reference for the ED.”
Tags: CME, drug interactions, iPhone, iTouch, Medscape, WebMD
