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In a study evaluating the clinical impact of handheld drug reference guides, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, said they demonstrated that ePocrates Rx, a drug reference guide for Palm OS devices, 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.

According to ePocrates, 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.

"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 mind boggling 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."

"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 handheld device makes it a lot easier for doctors to access this information when they need it."

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.