Monday, August 08, 2011

News Flash: You can't have it all.

  • Do you feel like you're stuck in the 20th century? 
  • Are you a physician who would like a smartphone app to help you make prescribing decisions? 
  • And are you opposed to apps that cost anything more than free
Good news! You can put your Luddite days behind you. Epocrates is here (it actually has been here for three years) to make your prescribing decisions easier.
  • Oh, you also don't want any drug ads or pharma marketing content on the app? That's asking too much.
According to Duff Wilson of the New York Times, doctors who generally resist pharma marketing aren't safe from drug companies should they choose to use a "free" program such as Epocrates. (Shouldn't be a huge surprise.)

"Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker, has certainly found the marketing channel to be an effective way to reach doctors. 'The beauty of the work we do with Epocrates is that we literally put ourselves in the palm of their hand,' said Dr. Freda Lewis Hall, chief medical officer at Pfizer."

Read the whole article, here.