Oct 31
2013
Epocrates Bugs + Drugs App Goes Viral With 100,000 Downloads in First Month
WATERTOWN, Mass., Oct. 31, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — athenahealth, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATHN) and Epocrates today announced that the new joint medical app, Epocrates Bugs + Drugs, has hit the 100,000 download mark since its release earlier this month. Epocrates Bugs + Drugs, an antimicrobial susceptibility reference sourced from athenahealth’s big data that helps clinicians identify local superbugs, shot to the #1 free medical app in Apple’s App Store in its first week. To date, it has earned 4+ stars, with users calling it “sleek and informative,” “super fast” and a “pretty awesome concept.”
The majority of targeted bacterial searches in the app are in higher-risk metropolitan areas, such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Furthermore, the localized sensitivity patterns for organisms including E. coli and Staph aureus, commonly found in urine and skin infections, are among the most viewed by the app’s users.
Dr. Gerry Tolbert, a family physician, was initially drawn to the beautiful design of the Epocrates Bugs + Drugs app. The app’s value was quickly evident during patient consultations, and it has since earned a spot in his practice toolkit. “It is sometimes challenging to judge what the resistance is for a presenting bacteria. By displaying resistance patterns in my area, Epocrates Bugs + Drugs helps ensure that I prescribe only one course of antibiotic and avoid medications that have shown to be resistant,” said Dr. Tolbert. “Epocrates helps me create a successful treatment plan, which provides higher levels of patient compliance and satisfaction.”
“We add more than 6,000 lab isolate data points every day to the network to generate fresh results. This is a great example of how aggregated EHR data can be utilized, and clinicians have clearly responded to it. The app has now been accessed more than 300,000 times since launch, with an average of approximately 4,000 uses a day,” said Abbe Don, vice president of user experience at Epocrates, an athenahealth company.
Epocrates Bugs + Drugs was created to provide the nation’s clinicians with geo-located bacterial resistance data sourced from athenahealth’s cloud-based clinical database of 15 million patient records. Results can be viewed for bacteria by specimen types and is paired with Epocrates’ trusted drug content to inform prescribing decisions.
Epocrates Bugs + Drugs is now available at no cost for iOS 7 devices in the Apple App Store: http://bit.ly/18uyL3n.
About Epocrates, Inc.
Epocrates, Inc., an athenahealth company, is recognized for developing the #1 medical application among U.S. physicians for clinical content, practice tools, and health industry engagement at the point of care. Epocrates has established a loyal network of more than one million health care professionals, including 50 percent of U.S. physicians, who routinely use its intuitive solutions to help streamline workflow and improve patient care. For more information, please visit www.epocrates.com/company.
About athenahealth, Inc.
athenahealth is a leading provider of cloud-based services for electronic health record (EHR), practice management, and care coordination. athenahealth’s mission is to be caregivers’ most trusted service, helping them do well doing the right thing. For more information, please visit www.athenahealth.com.