Top 5 Medical Apps from Big Pharma for iPad

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

The iPad is changing the way that healthcare marketing professionals interact with doctors. While the nature of the pharmaceutical sales call adapts to the use of this new tool and the form in which the pharmaceutical detail is consumed changes, doctors will come to expect that, in addition to communicating the benefits and research behind a new product, pharmaceutical companies will develop tools that assist them in their day-to-day practice. 

Big Pharma has taken notice of this trend and was among the first to begin the development of apps that not only influence a prescriber to choose one medication or treatment over another, but also provide value to healthcare providers and patients in the exam room. Borrowing heavily from the online realm, this form of content marketing – providing valuable information free of charge – has found a home with Big Pharma and will soon be the go-to tool for any savvy healthcare marketing organization.

Below is a sampling of 5 iPad apps from some of the biggest names in the pharmaceutical industry that are changing the way that doctors and patients interact.

1. The Merck Manual: Professional Edition – The world’s most widely distributed medical reference book has gone digital for the iPad. Renowned for its focus and digestibility, the Merck Manual has been the go-to reference for many health professionals for years. The professional edition for iPad offers users access to the content anywhere (no internet needed), an intuitive browsing system, access to the full index of articles, browsing history and more.
2. Novartis Oncology Medical Information – With this easy-to-use app, doctors can view and download standard response documents for a variety of oncological inquiries. The quick and comprehensive search function allows doctors to find and email documents with the touch of a finger, as well as submit medical inquires directly to Novartis right from the application.
3. MedTrust/GSK Oncology Cancer Trials – This revolutionary app from GlaxoSmithKline and MedTrust Online provides doctors with lightning-fast mobile access to registered clinical trials information. With the ability to quickly search by cancer type, gender, age, trial status, study type and more, oncologists can quickly find – and then map – the nearest clinical trials and share them with patients in any setting.
4. AZ Quest Cardiovascular Clinical Trials – Similar to the oncology app above, but tailored for cardiologists, the clinical trials app from AstraZeneca UK allows doctors to search cardiovascular clinical trials, email information and stay up to date on developments in cardiology with a live cardio news feed.
5. Johnson & Johnson’s My Pregnancy Today – One of the most downloaded pregnancy apps available, My Pregnancy Today educates mothers-to-be on the progress of their pregnancy day by day, offering the ability to see high-resolution photos, how-to videos, nutrition guides, progress trackers and more from one all-inclusive pregnancy app.

Healthcare Providers Turning to Mobile Devices in Large Numbers

Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

Ninety-four percent of physicians are now using smart phones to communicate, manage business/personal work flows and access medical information, according to a report from Spyglass Consulting Group.

In addition to checking their email, physicians are increasingly using apps. There are apps available for looking up information on prescription drugs, clinical information on conditions and symptoms, medical guides and even medical calculators. In addition to these industry-specific apps, doctors are also using their smart phones to access social media sites and to dictate notes to email.

According to an article in the Washington Post, some physicians are even starting to use their smart phones to diagnose patients. One such physician, Neal Sikka, started doing this informally and is now conducting a study to see how accurate these diagnoses are. However, it is unlikely that this usage will become mainstream in the near future, as most physicians aren’t reimbursed for communicating with patients electronically. Read more about the study.

For now, it appears that email is the front runner. With nearly 1 million emails, HDS’ EmailPRO will enable you to market to these physicians regardless if they are using computers, smart phones or tablets. Use the 200+ data attributes to accurately target the exact audience you are going after.

For more information on the Spyglass study, click here.