For Immediate Release
ASTRAZENECA TAPS ePOCRATES DOCALERT® TECHNOLOGY TO MESSAGE PHYSICIANS
September 11, 2001
San Carlos, CA -- ePocrates - the largest handheld network of physicians - announced today that AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP will utilize the ePocrates DocAlert® system to send out clinical news targeted to key specialties. The DocAlert® system, which allows delivery of customized messages by specialty, geographic area and/or other key variables, incorporates cutting-edge two-way communication technology that allows physicians to receive and request information directly from their handheld devices.
"DocAlert® messages have high readership rates, which is one reason why the Food and Drug Administration and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices are utilizing the system to send out their drug and medical device safety alerts," says John Voris, CEO of ePocrates. "The two-way messaging capability allows doctors to quickly scan their messages at work, determine their individual level of interest in the content and request more information by tapping on their handheld device."
According to Voris, the physicians' request for additional information is transmitted back to ePocrates the next time the physician performs a HotSync® operation on their Palm OS handheld device while connected to the Internet. The ePocrates Rx™ drug reference guide is also automatically updated during this process.
"The great thing about DocAlert® messages is that they allow the physician to determine the type of information requested and received," says Michelle Snyder, VP of Marketing and Strategic Planning at ePocrates. "This allows our partners to reply to physicians with customized messages that are relevant to the doctors' needs and interests. Our partners can also utilize DocAlert® messages to refer physicians to CME opportunities, clinical trial opportunities and corporate websites."
"The ePocrates™ network has grown quite large due to the popularity of their electronic handheld drug reference guide," says Mike Cord, e-promotion manager at AstraZeneca. "We need to get current information into the hands of doctors quickly and ePocrates has the expertise to help us accomplish that."
The ePocrates network consists of over 350,000 healthcare professionals and more than 170,000 physicians who use ePocrates™ software, such as ePocrates Rx™, an electronic drug reference containing definitive data on crucial safety topics such as indication-specific dosing, adverse reactions and multiple drug interactions. The data in the ePocrates Rx™ software is always current because of ePocrates' proprietary AutoUpdate feature, which automatically updates the database on physicians' handheld device each time the doctor performs a HotSync® operation to the ePocrates server.
About AstraZenec
AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of ethical (prescription) pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the top five pharmaceutical companies in the world with healthcare sales of $15.8 billion and leading positions in the sales of gastrointestinal, oncology, anesthesia (including pain management), cardiovascular, central nervous system (CNS) and respiratory products. In the United States, AstraZeneca is an $8 billion healthcare business with more than 10,000 employees.
About ePocrates
ePocrates Inc. is the largest handheld physician network, enabling quick point-of-care access to important clinical information. Since the launch of its flagship product, ePocrates Rx™ (formerly qRx), in November 1999, the network has grown to more than 350,000 users, including 170,000 physicians. In a review published in JAMA, ePocrates Rx™ software was described as "indispensable," "simple and intuitive" and "so useful as to justify the purchase of the hardware itself." In addition to the ePocrates Rx™ clinical drug database, ePocrates also offers the ePocrates ID™ antimicrobial reference guide, DocAlert® messaging capabilities and a market research recruitmenttool.
Headquartered in San Carlos, CA, ePocrates is a privately held company led by president and CEO John Voris, former COO of PCS and veteran of Eli Lilly. The company was founded in 1998 by Richard Fiedotin, MD and Jeff Tangney and is funded by Sprout Group, Bay City Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, InterWest and Three Arch partners. For more information on ePocrates, visit www.epocrates.com.
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