High-Tech Tools Help Hospitals Manage Clinical Workflow and Enhance Patient Care

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile technology leaders ePocrates, Inc. and MercuryMD, Inc. announced today at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference and exhibition an agreement that enables the integration of MercuryMD's MData(R) Enterprise System with ePocrates Rx(R) and ePocrates Rx Pro(TM) drug reference applications.

"By combining MData with the ePocrates drug reference and formulary applications, healthcare professionals can now launch into the ePocrates drug database directly from a patient's medication list, and access their hospital's unique drug formulary directly from their mobile device -- all while in the context of a specific patient," said Alan Ying, CEO of MercuryMD. "This partnership will save healthcare professionals' valuable time by eliminating the need to separately look up hospital-approved drugs and by reducing extra data entry."

Additionally, MercuryMD will promote the ePocrates Internet-based, fully integrated hospital clinical reference and formulary application, ePocrates Rx Online(TM) + AHFS(R) DI. This application -- developed in partnership with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) -- allows hospitals to integrate their formulary information with the user-friendly ePocrates Rx Online(TM) application, and the authoritative drug reference AHFS Drug Information, resulting in a single, comprehensive database.

MercuryMD's mobile solution is deployed in over 40 U.S. hospital systems representing over 115 hospitals. The company's MData(R) Enterprise System integrates patient data from a hospital's existing information systems and securely delivers patient information -- such as census lists, demographics, laboratory results, diagnostic reports, medication lists, consults, and other transcribed reports -- directly to clinicians' handheld devices in an intuitive, easy-to-use format.

"Joining with MercuryMD furthers our focus on providing objective, accurate, concise and relevant clinical reference information created specifically for use at the point of care," said Andrew Burns, ePocrates vice president of health services. "With this collaboration, not only can hospitals manage their clinical workflow but also enhance the delivery of patient care. Access to up-to-date drug information can improve patient safety by helping health care professionals avoid dangerous adverse drug events."

Over 350,000 physicians, pharmacists and other health care professionals currently subscribe to a version of ePocrates Rx(R). The ePocrates Rx Pro(TM) premium handheld drug reference application features over 3,000 conventional drug monographs, an alternative medicine database and interactions guide; the built-in MultiCheck(R) function that allows the user to simultaneously check up to 30 drugs for interactions across both ethical and alternative medications; the ePocrates ID(R) infectious disease guide; clinical tables and guidelines; and the MedMath(TM) calculator with over 30 of the most commonly used medical equations.

About ePocrates, Inc.

San Mateo, CA -based ePocrates Inc. is the leader in providing clinical information to physicians and other health care professionals at the point of care. Over 350,000 health care professionals, including over 130,000 U.S. physicians, currently subscribe to a version of ePocrates Rx(R). ePocrates offers a clinical suite of products: ePocrates Rx, its core clinical reference guide, ePocrates Rx Pro(TM), which also includes an herbal database and an infectious disease application, and ePocrates Rx Online(TM), which extends access via the Internet and provides additional features like printable patient education information. ePocrates also provides formulary information from health plans, hospitals, Medicaid agencies and pharmacy benefit management (PBM) companies that represent over 95 million individuals, and messaging, market research and clinical trial recruitment services. For more information on ePocrates, visit http://www.epocrates.com/.

About MercuryMD

MercuryMD is a private, healthcare-focused software company that provides hospitals with mobile technology solutions to improve clinical workflow and operational efficiencies. MercuryMD's MData(R) Enterprise System integrates hospital data and delivers patient information directly to clinicians' handheld devices enabling them to have anytime access to current and comprehensive clinical data. This data can include up-to-date patient census lists, demographics, laboratory results, diagnostic reports, medication lists, consults and other transcribed reports. MData supports both Palm(R) OS and Pocket PC devices. For more information visit: http://www.mercurymd.com/.

NOTE: The MercuryMD logo, MercuryMD, Data is the difference, MData Enterprise System, and MData are registered trademarks of MercuryMD, Inc. SmartCare, QuickCharge, and ActivOrders are trademarks of MercuryMD. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.

ePocrates, Inc.

CONTACT: Katherine Thornberry of ePocrates, Inc., +1-650-227-1713, or
kthornberry@epocrates.com; or Jennifer Porter of MercuryMD, Inc.,
+1-919-806-1700, ext. 331, or Jennifer.Porter@MercuryMD.com

Web site: http://www.mercurymd.com/

Web site: http://www.epocrates.com/