Epocrates
By epocrates, Inc
Epocrates, launched in 1998, is a leading mobile and web–based clinical reference platform offering fast, evidence‑based drug, diagnosis, and disease guidance to clinicians at the point of care. It covers physicians, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, PAs, and other healthcare professionals.
Founded in 1998 by Stanford MBA students Kirk Loevner and Jeff Tangney as a Palm Pilot drug reference tool; it became the first medical app on the iPhone and rapidly gained traction among U.S. clinicians
Raised venture capital from Bay City Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, InterWest, Sprout Group, Goldman Sachs, among others in early rounds (2000–2008)
IPO launched on February 2, 2011 (NASDAQ:EPOC), raising ~$85.8 M, with an initial valuation of ~$356.5 M; it was acquired by athenahealth on January 7, 2013, for approximately $293 M
Drug Info & Interaction Checker: Extensive database with adult/pediatric dosing, contraindications, adverse effects, pharmacology, and support for up to 30 simultaneous drug/herb checks
Pill Identifier: Visual lookup by imprint, shape, color—cross-referenced against drug records
Bugs + Drugs: Geolocated antimicrobial susceptibility tool highlighting local bacterial resistance patterns (patented) Epocrates.
Clinical Guidelines & CME: Personalized newsfeed, CME articles, quizzes, and podcasts—aligned to clinician specialty, most content available for free.
Long COVID Decision Tool: Interactive algorithmic support launched in 2022 to support long COVID evaluation and differentiation from flu/COVID, continuously updated with expert guidance.
2023 Platform Revamp: Redesigned home screen and newsfeed, personalized algorithmic content delivery. Resulted in a 150 % increase in impressions, 800 % increase in article click-through, and 157 % growth in active users—all while maintaining over 90 % retention among clinicians.
Enhanced CME experience: more free CME activities tied to newsfeed content, increasing engagement by 23 % in 2023.
Clinician‑led content development: Medical information created and reviewed by in‑house team of pharmacists and physicians ensures accuracy, neutrality, and utility at the point of care .
User‑focused innovation: Built to save clinicians time, reduce medical errors, and support patient care workflows—a long-standing ethos since founding Fierce Healthcare.
Over 1 million clinicians in the U.S., including physicians, pharmacists, NPs, PAs, nurses; coverage of ~40 % of U.S. physicians as early as 2010, with sustained leadership in the space.
