ePhysician and Medsite Write Joint Online Prescription

ePhysician.com and Medsite.com announced today that they have teamed up to provide health care professionals with online access to thousands of medical books, journals, software and other medical supplies.

ePhysicians users will have access to the ePhysician MedBookStore via their handheld Palm Pilot computers, the integral tool in the Mountain View, California-based company’s service for health care professionals.

ePhysician uses Internet-based, mobile technology to allow doctors and other qualified healthcare professionals to screen patient data, prescribe medications and order laboratory tests while they are at home, in the hospital or on the road.

“ePhysician is bringing the benefits of the Internet and mobile computing technology to physicians where they need it the most — their everyday practice,” said company CEO Stuart Weisman. “Partnering with Medsite gives our customers medical information and services they need on a daily basis.”

Automating Health Care Industry

ePhysician is the brainchild of Weisman, a gastroenterologist-turned-Internet entrepreneur. Backed by Benchmark Capital, Weisman launched ePhysician last May.

The service is intended to help automate the health care industry, an endeavor that has frustrated more than a few industry professionals. ePhysician says that the current system of writing prescriptions with pen and paper leads to inaccuracies that are responsible for 1.3 million Americans experiencing adverse drug reactions every year.

The company cites a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that found that the rate of adverse reactions to medications drops 55 percent when the doctor orders electronically.

The practice is still relatively new, however. Only one percent of the three billion prescriptions filled every year in the U.S. are ordered electronically.

As it did when it launched its site in May, the company is giving away 10,000 Palm Pilots to qualified doctors. They are charged a monthly subscription fee for using the company’s site.

Medsite, based in New York City and founded in 1995, calls itself the “physicians’ home on the Internet.” The company sells a wide range of medical products and information. It draws over 12,000 visitors a day, has 150,000 registered users and has formed strategic alliances with hospitals, medical schools and associations in more than 60 countries.