Merck targets docs with revamped U.K. website and healthcare apps

Merck's U.K. group has raised its level of play in an industry-wide competition for the attention of physicians as they use the Internet. Last month the MSD unit of the U.S. drug giant ($MRK) revealed that it has retooled an existing website known as Univadis, which provides healthcare pros with a library of content, medical apps and other resources.

The revamped website reflects several trends in medicine and how healthcare companies interact with physicians in the Digital Age. For starters, health IT has expanded since the launch of the original Univadis website more than a decade ago, and physicians in the U.K. use software as part of their routine for patient care. And an explosion in the number and types of healthcare apps has made mobile devices an invaluable tool in digital medicine.

For the U.K. version of Univadis, physicians get free access to a library of medical apps for their work in 50 specialty areas. The company joins other global pharma companies such as Sanofi ($SNY), Roche ($RHHBY)/Genentech and others to offer apps with physicians in mind. The apps benefit from the wide use of Internet-connected devices in medicine. As MSD noted from a 2011 study, 87% of healthcare pros in the U.K. believe that the Internet serves an important role on a daily basis.  

"Since the release of The Merck Manual more than 100 years ago, MSD has been committed to supporting doctors and healthcare professionals by providing non-promotional health information," MSD's Managing Director, Deepak Khanna, said in a statement. "MSD's ongoing dedication to providing high quality and state-of-the-art resources to medical audiences is exemplified by the re-development of Univadis, and is in line with MSD's vision of delivering innovative health solutions."

- here's MSD's release
- check out PMLive's article

Special Report: 15 mobile apps in Life Sciences - 2012