New Healthcare Market Research Venture

ePocrates, a provider of clinical information at the point-of-care, and Techneos Systems, a developer of mobile survey software, are collaborating to bring the power of point-of-experience data collection to the healthcare market research arena.

ePocrates, a provider of clinical information at the point-of-care, and Techneos Systems, a developer of mobile survey software, are collaborating to bring the power of point-of-experience data collection to the healthcare market research arena.

'We view the ability to easily capture data at the point-of-experience to be an important component in the future of healthcare market research,' said Matt Campion, VP Pharmaceutical Services, ePocrates. 'Current modes of data collection dictate that respondents provide data days or even weeks after the experience has occurred. Often times, this is better characterised as a test of a respondent's memory rather than collecting accurate data. The convenience of inputting data via the handheld while still fresh in a respondent's mind is particularly important to busy physicians who need a way to provide data with minimal interruption to their workflow.'

Over 79,000 ePocrates physicians and tens of thousands of other healthcare professionals have opted into the ePocrates Honors programme, which enables participants to earn honoraria for engaging in market research. ePocrates believes that the 35% response rate observed for web-based surveys will hold true for handheld data collection as it will greatly simplify participation in patient encounter studies and other appropriate point-of-experience surveys.

'In capturing on-hand sample inventory and distribution of samples to patients at the point-of-prescribing, this capability sounds highly efficient and very cost-effective to me. We're excited to try this,' said Ken DePinto, Managing Director of SampleMonitor, a TNS Intersearch product.

'In developing this system, it was critical to identify a partner that had both best-of-breed MCAPI (Mobile Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing) software and the technical expertise to tailor their software to work seamlessly with our network infrastructure. After an exhaustive search, we elected to partner with Techneos Systems. We were very impressed with the robust functionality of their software, the simplicity of their survey authoring tool, and their overall technical proficiency,' said Campion.

John Weisberg, VP Marketing for Techneos, believes that the alliance with ePocrates gives healthcare market researchers an unmatched platform for their work: 'Techneos is committed to providing the best mobile data collection software, and including it in complete solutions. Our existing relationship with SPSS MR makes available the widest range of compatible data collection and analysis tools for market researchers. ePocrates is also a market leader, offering access to a rich and deep source of healthcare respondents. Combining complementary products and expertise, as we are doing with ePocrates, will provide greater efficiency and new opportunities for healthcare market researchers.'

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.