SAN MATEO, CALIF., MARCH 9, 2005
2004 a Rapid Growth Year for Epocrates
New Products, Partnerships and Executives Extend Leadership Position of the Handheld Clinical Information Pioneer
Delivering on its promise to support healthcare providers, patients and industry in their efforts to provide superior healthcare, Epocrates, Inc. marked several key milestones in 2004. These include the launch of several cross-platform products, partnerships with key industry and government organizations, contracts with prominent medical groups and schools, aggressive sales growth as well as the appointments of Kirk Loevner as chief executive officer and Robert McCulloch as chief financial officer.
"2004 was a phenomenal year for Epocrates in every area of our business," said Loevner. "We continue to expand our number one position in the mobile medical reference segment. With the largest healthcare provider network — one out of every 4 U.S. physicians use Epocrates — we continue to provide them access to the essential clinical information, relationships and innovative tools they need to provide the best patient care possible."
Products
Building on the success of its widely-adopted drug reference offerings, Epocrates Rx and Epocrates Rx Pro, Epocrates responded to the growing needs of its healthcare provider customers last year by launching an entire suite of cross-platform, point-of-care clinical decision support products, including:
- Epocrates Dx comprehensive medical diagnostic and therapeutic reference based on respected content from the editor of 5-Minute Clinical Consult
- Epocrates Lab diagnostic reference which offers test preparation, interpretation, follow-up guidelines and reimbursement coding information
- Epocrates Essentials all-in-one clinical reference suite, an integrated combination of the Epocrates Rx Pro, Epocrates Dx and Epocrates Lab products
- Epocrates Essentials for nurses, which includes an IV drip rate calculator and built-in IV compatibility
Partnerships and Customers
Epocrates partnered in 2004 with some of the nation's top payers, government organizations, medical groups and medical schools. These partnerships expanded the flow of information and services to physicians and allied healthcare providers, while helping them to advance the practice of medicine. Payer and government agency partners included Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana as well as several state Medicaid programs. These organizations join Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Humana and others in offering formulary information covering nearly 100 million U.S. patients.
Medical groups and health systems that began offering Epocrates to their clinical staffs in 2004 included IPC-The Hospitalist Company, which covers the largest number of hospitals in the country, and University of New Mexico Hospitals.
The prolific use by medical students of Epocrates' products and services has led many medical schools to require their students to be armed with Epocrates. During 2004, the company penned agreements with Duke University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan and the University of North Carolina. At year's end, every medical school in the U.S. had students using Epocrates, with 83 percent having more than 100 active student users.
Executive Leadership
In June of 2004, Kirk Loevner joined Epocrates as its new president and CEO. He brings to Epocrates 20 years of experience in developing and marketing technology products and services. He has founded and held CEO positions at numerous online technology companies in the financial services, publishing and retail sectors. In the 80s, he led the software division at Apple Computer and was part of the team that pioneered desktop publishing.
Epocrates' new CFO Robert McCulloch brings more than 20 years of experience in high-growth life sciences and technology firms, including CardioVention, Somnus Medical Technologies, Target Therapeutics and Anthem Electronics.
Additional executive team changes include the promotion of Jeff Tangney, an Epocrates founder, to senior vice president of sales and client services.
Company Growth
The ongoing pioneering of new products and services that support healthcare providers has cemented Epocrates' leadership position as well as continued to drive new users into the Epocrates network. Epocrates achieved 70 percent year-over-year revenue growth in 2004, due in large part to the expansion of its user base, which now includes over 400,000 physicians and other allied healthcare professionals. In 2004, Epocrates' products answered more than 10 million drug and clinical questions for users. The company distributes an average of two million clinical informational updates and alerts from its industry and government agency partners each month.
CONTACT: Erica Sniad Morgenstern Epocrates Public Relations PHONE: (650) 227-6907 E-MAIL: pr@epocrates.com WEB: www.epocrates.com