PEPID: Adds Evidence-Based Medicine to Its Point-of-Care Software

SKOKIE, IL, June 22, 2005 – PEPID LLC-the world’s leading developer of medical information and support tools-announced today the release of evidence-based Clinical Inquiries in its latest version of PEPID(TM) software for primary care professionals. Now physicians not only have patient treatment recommendations on their PDAs, they have the research to back them up as well.

“The inclusion of evidence-based Clinical Inquiries into our Primary Care Plus software is a result of a unique collaboration between PEPID and the Family Physicians Inquiries Network (FPIN),” says CEO Dr. Mark Rosenbloom. “Both of our organizations are committed to providing the best point-of-care reference tool for all physicians. “

Clinical Inquiries are initiated by real-world questions from family doctors, which are then thoroughly researched and published by FPIN. With the inclusion of exclusive Clinical Inquiries in PEPID software, physicians benefit from:

Evidence-based answers to hundreds of practical, clinical real-world questions;
Evidence summaries of the world literature identified through structured searches of multiple databases
Commentaries from renowned primary care physicians.

“Most exciting and unique to medical publishing, we have directly linked from PEPID’s disease and drug monographs to the evidence,” adds Dr. Rosenbloom. “Now, after a doctor has reviewed our concise point-of-care recommendations, he or she can immediately link to the evidence supporting these recommendations…without leaving the patient’s bedside.”

“The availability of evidence-based Clinical Inquiries within PEPID Primary Care Plus is a milestone in achieving FPIN’s mission of translating the best research evidence into practice at the point of patient care,” says Dr. Bernard Ewigman, Professor and Chairman, Department of Family Medicine, University of Chicago; President & Editor-in-Chief, Family Physicians Inquiries Network . “In clinic…in the emergency department… on labor and delivery…and in the hospital, family physicians and other primary care providers will know that the point-of-care reference at their fingertips will be based on the best available evidence and will be continuously updated.”

PEPID LLC delivers medical expertise to subscribers on wired, wireless, and handheld devices worldwide. PEPID’s latest release, Version 6.1, is published for Palm OS, PocketPC, and available on PEPID Online. PEPID has specialty-focused software products for emergency and primary care physicians, nurses, students, paramedics and pharmacists. System enhancements and content updates are released periodically without additional cost to current subscribers.

“PEPID’s capabilities increase with every new release of our software products,” says Dr. Rosenbloom. “The release of PEPID Version 6.1 and the inclusion of evidence-based Clinical Inquiries, assures our continued leadership in the delivery of medical information for all healthcare professionals.”

About PEPID LLC
PEPID is the nation’s leading producer of fully-integrated medical reference software delivered to point-of-care on handheld devices and online. The firm was founded in 1994 by Dr. Mark Rosenbloom, a board-certified emergency physician and Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. Today, the firm continues to pursue medical content excellence, supported by cutting-edge technology and worldwide market expansion.

PEPID’s medical information software is designed to provide all medical professionals with instant bedside access to complete reference and decision-support tools. Health-care practitioners save precious time finding and processing information and can spend more time with their patients. They provide better up-to-date patient care using PEPID. This results in more satisfied health-care practitioners and ultimately better care with fewer “errors”. PEPID software products, specifically designed for physicians, nurses, students, paramedics and pharmacists, provide access to current pharmacological and clinical information at the point-of-care via handheld computers and the Internet.

PEPID partners with palmOne, the Family Physicians Inquiries Network, the Oncology Nursing Society, the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and many others. More information about PEPID and our products can be found at www.pepid.com.

Contact: David Luck, Marketing Communications Manager, 888-321-7828 ext 204, email dluck@pepid.com.

Industry Background
Use of handheld devices in medical workplaces is expanding quickly. A recent survey by Forrester Research found over 50% of all practicing physicians using PDAs. The nursing community is not far behind with an estimated 35% of nurses using PDAs, a ten-fold increase in just two years. As the information-intensive healthcare industry continues to grow, today’s medical professionals are faced with processing increasing amounts of data faster.

PEPID embeds its support tools, like pre-populated medical calculators, interactions generator and rhythm strips, into treatment notes (a PEDID exclusive). Precious time isn’t wasted opening and closing software applications to get needed information. As a result, patients get better care and more face time with their caregivers.

About FPIN
The Family Physicians Inquiries Network (FPIN) is a national, not-for-profit consortium of academic family physicians, family medicine residency programs and departments, medical librarians, informaticians, computer scientists, other primary-care providers and consultants dedicated to using information technology to improve healthcare. FPIN has thrived as a grassroots community of healthcare professionals driven to create a revolution in medicine. More information about FPIN can be found at www.fpin.org.