MedAmerica Mutual, a liability insurer specializing in serving emergency physicians and their medical groups, is offering the doctors it insures a subsidy toward the purchase of the new ePocrates Rx Pro software, a source of clinical references for handhelds.

MedAmerica Mutual said in 2001 it distributed over 500 PDAs at a fraction of the retail price along with the original version of ePocrates Rx software to their insured physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners.

The company said this project was conducted under a risk management initiative. The goal was to enhance patient safety by having medication information electronically available at the click of a menu at the patient's bedside.

"Time lends credence to the value of embracing innovative ways to increase patient safety. ePocrates has proven its value in the Emergency Room. 91% of the respondents to our most recent survey of PDA users indicated that using ePocrates as a drug/medical reference tool or drug calculator reduced the potential for serious medication errors," said Gloria Everett, CEO, MedAmerica Mutual RRG, Inc. "ePocrates fits into our strategic vision by providing us with an effective patient safety tool."