SAN CARLOS, CALIF., May 1, 2002
Harvard Brigham and Women's Hospital study shows that Epocrates helps improve medication safety and reduce drug errors
Popular mobile drug reference may help doctors avoid millions of errors annually
In the first published study evaluating the clinical impact of mobile drug reference guides, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, demonstrated that Epocrates Rx?, a popular evidence-based drug reference guide, may help doctors significantly reduce the incidence of medication errors. The Harvard study follows a widely publicized report by the Institute of Medicine that medication errors cause thousands of deaths each year.
Over one in four physicians currently have Epocrates Rx, a drug reference software application for mobile devices containing comprehensive dosing and safety information distilled from primary sources, clinical publications and treatment guidelines. The Harvard study findings, published in the current (May/June) issue of the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, indicate that 50% of Epocrates physicians surveyed reported averting 1-2 errors per week. These results suggest that mobile devices equipped with the Epocrates Rx drug reference guide offer a simple, practical and cost-effective solution for reducing medication errors, particularly in the outpatient environment, where there are fewer checks and balances in place to ensure that consumers get the right drug at the right dose.
"We all hear horror stories about patients getting too high a dose of a medication or being prescribed two drugs that have serious interactions," says Michael R. Cohen, R.Ph., M.S., D.Sc., president and founder of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices. "But the truth of the matter is that it's virtually impossible for doctors to keep track of the mindboggling number of new drugs, new indications and constantly changing treatment guidelines. Epocrates Rx is practical and easy to use, a simple mobile application that can help physicians protect patients and make sure they get the best care possible."
Today many of the nation's leading medical schools, health plans, physician groups, and clinical associations either require or encourage physicians to use mobile devices with Epocrates Rx. These devices are easy to use, fit in the doctors' pocket and are easily incorporated into the physicians' workflow. They can also be used anywhere physicians practice, including clinics, offices and hospitals. In addition to reducing errors, Epocrates Rx can also save clinicians time. Additional findings from the Harvard study show, for example, that doctors can look up drug information much faster using Epocrates Rx than with traditional sources such as the PDR (Physicians' Desk Reference).
"The Epocrates Rx study demonstrates that providing physicians with quick access to critical drug information at the time of prescribing can help improve medication safety," says David Bates, M.D., chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "Lack of access to drug information is one of the most common causes of medication errors; Epocrates Rx on a mobile device makes it a lot easier for doctors to access this information when they need it."
"Epocrates Rx on a mobile device can be a powerful tool to promote safe medical practices," says Richard Fiedotin, M.D., v.p. of clinical products at Epocrates. "Considering that over 200,000 physicians in the U.S. have downloaded Epocrates Rx, and over half of the doctors in the study reported avoiding at least one error per week, the annual number of potential errors avoided is enormous."
Today, many doctors consider Epocrates Rx to be a clinical tool as essential to their practice as a stethoscope. "I can't imagine practicing medicine without Epocrates. It comes in handy everyday and helps me practice safer medicine with better precision," says Dr. Bruce Bagley, past president of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). "I often demo Epocrates to groups of doctors to show them just how easy it is to use in their practice. When I use Epocrates during a patient visit to check a dose or to answer a question about side effects or drug interactions, my patients are impressed that I am using a 'high tech' tool to protect them from drug prescribing errors."
Methodology and Key Findings
The Epocrates Rx study was conducted at Brigham and Women's Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Epocrates users were solicited to participate via email in a seven-day online survey and approximately 870 physicians enrolled. Findings from the Epocrates study include:
- Clinicians find it difficult to keep up-to-date on the prescribing requirements of drugs, especially recently approved drugs
- 50% of physicians stated that Epocrates Rx helped them avoid one or more adverse drug events per week
- More than 80% of physicians said they refer to Epocrates twice a day or more
- 80% said that Epocrates Rx improved their drug knowledge and improved patient care
- Practice efficiency was rated as improved by over 80% of respondents in both inpatient and outpatient settings, with 60% of physicians surveyed reporting that it took them 10 seconds or less to find information using Epocrates Rx compared with one to five minutes for traditional methods
- More than 50% of physicians said that patients were more satisfied with their care
CONTACT:
Erica Sniad Morgenstern Epocrates Public Relations PHONE: (650) 227-6907 E-MAIL: pr@epocrates.com WEB: www.epocrates.com