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One out of three doctors choose Epocrates Rx for the iPhone
Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal
Mary Duan
31 July 2009
SAN MATEO — At least three times a day, Dr. Bruce Bienenstock takes out his iPhone, taps a software application on it and decides if a drug is safe to prescribe for one of his patients. Bienenstock, a psychiatrist affiliated with El Camino Hospital, said the "app" known as Epocrates Rx "ensures a high level of safety and quality" for his patients.
"I trust it," Bienenstock. "If I'm with a new patient, or a patient I haven't seen in a long time, it lets me go through the medications they're taking and find out if there are possible interactions."
One in three U.S. doctors has an app from San Mateo-based Epocrates Inc. loaded on a handheld device or smart phone, including BlackBerrys, Palm and Windows Mobile units, according to the company. Apps from the developer of clinical information and decision support tools include the prescription app, an over-the-counter information app, an infectious disease guide and a suite of tools to calculate IV drip rates, breast cancer risk, heparin dosing and opioid analgesic conversions, among other information.
Some of the apps are free. A comprehensive drug, disease and lab reference package runs $159 a year, and a complete clinical information suite runs $199 a year.
"The average clinician uses us six times per day, and they have it integrated into their workflow," said Michelle Snyder, Epocrates' senior vice president of subscriber business. "Anyone can develop an app, but in health care, an app needs to meet a real need. We provide a big time savings for doctors and patients."
The venture-backed Epocrates does not release revenue, but it has raised more than $86 million in venture funding from Silicon Valley and Bay Area firms including InterWest Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Three Arch Partners and Bay City Capital. In December, the company canceled plans for a $75 million IPO.
According to Epocrates, its wide acceptance places its apps among the top 5 percent of iPhone apps actively used more than a month after download.
