Medical libraries at the touch of a button
Skyscape makes mobile research a reality
As a paramedic with Boston MedFlight, Bill Cyr can’t bring a stack of medical journals with him when he lifts off to an accident scene. Instead, he grabs his PDA and can instantly reference any number of injuries he’ll encounter on the ground.
Thanks to software developed by Skyscape in Marlboro, Cyr, along with nurses racing between patients in a hospital and medics tending to soldiers on the battlefield, is never without a library of crucial data allowing him to diagnose patients.
Skyscape software allows users to download what would normally be volumes of medical data into the palm of their hand. Originally conceived on the Apple Newton, the grandfather of personal data assistants, Skyscape is on its way to becoming the reference tool of choice for users armed with any number of the available PDAs and smart phones on the market today. Students enrolled in Drexel University’s nursing program are required to carry the software on their devices, and medics in Iraq laud the convenience of a mobile library.
According to Skyscape CEO and founder Sandeep Shah, the goal is clear: become the standard in providing instant access to what equates to hundreds of pages of medical information. The company has grown its user base to 625,000 users, up from 500,000 just ten months ago.
"(The software) has an effect: reducing costly errors," says Shah. "With phone capabilities always expanding, we expect growth for a long time to come."
Shah’s company has lasted far longer than the defunct Apple product that helped the company test its software. Skyscape has partnered with 45 medical journal publishers such as McGraw-Hill, and now controls 90 percent of the market, says Shah.
Users select journals relevent to them via servers that automatically update when new information becomes available. Skyscape users are kept abreast of the new info whenever their devices are in range of an Internet feed. While such a connection is necessary for new downloads, any data previously stored is always available immediately for reference.
"You need to have info within 10 seconds," says Shah, noting how Skyscape users in Iraq and other first-responders don’t have time to waste. Trish Hasen was a senior nurse with Alpha Surgical Co. when she was stationed in Iraq, and used her PDA to access medical data. "I didn’t have to carry a book - just my PDA," she says, noting that traveling light was a necessity because of strict weight restrictions.
Skyscape notes that its primary users are individuals within larger organizations who have discovered the software when searching for alternatives to textbooks.
Shah says that the firm is aiming to round up a pool of student ambassadors to create group purchase options with fellow students. Another targeted group is pharmaceutical companies developing drugs relevant to areas of focus for physicians. By providing journals with their research findings, physicians using Skyscape can immediately connect with a pharma company creating drugs useful for their patients. For now, though, simply assisting emergency personnel has created a steady following.
Says MedFlight’s Cyr: "We would be lost without it."
At a glance: Skyscape
Address: 100 Locke Drive, Marlboro
Year founded: 2000
Number of employees: 40+
Services: Mobile medical software provider
Website: www.skyscape.com
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