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.

Stay Current And Compliant – Plan for New CMS Ruling

Monday, November 28th, 2011

This year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released its 2012 Final Rule regarding prescriber identification number validation on Medicare Part D drug claims. In it, the CMS raises concerns regarding the large number of invalid prescriber identification numbers and the possibility of prescription fraud and drug abuse.

In response, the CMS is now requiring Medicaid Part D sponsors to confirm the validity of Drug Enforcement Administration numbers on drugs listed in schedules II through V or map National Provider Identifier numbers to the prescriber’s DEA number. It also requires that sponsors confirm that the controlled substance is within the prescriber’s scope of practice to prescribe and that all identifiers are valid and active.

While the Final Rule allows for pharmacies to create their own verification system using DEA registrant files, the Social Security Administration death file, OIG and Medicaid program excluded provider lists, and the CMS National Plan & Provider Enumeration System database, it also allows for the contracting of third-party vendors to supply prescriber information and facilitate the validation process.

While the choice is left up to pharmacies as to how they meet these requirements, for many larger pharmacies, contracting with a third-party vendor will make the most sense as the number of claims these large pharmacies process coupled with the numerous databases that must be checked and maintained make creating an internal system of DEA and NPI validation inconvenient and cumbersome.

Pharmacies looking for a third-party validation partner to provide up-to-date prescriber data have been choosing Healthcare Data Solutions’ prescriber validation services. HDS’ comprehensive prescriber validation databases update DEA and NPI numbers to provide the most current and accurate prescriber validation information available, assuring pharmacies a dependable partner in Medicare Part D claims compliance.

Contact Healthcare Data Solutions today to learn more about how HDS products and services can assist with Part D compliance.