I think it has a lot to do with standard Internet connections. They found the Web too slow and too cumbersome. Medcast launched in March, after six months of beta testing. The company employs roughly 200 people, including more than 60 editorial staffers and correspondents, who, using original reporting, wire service reports and newspaper clips, as well as animation, photos, sound and video, deliver daily medical intelligence to subscribers. Doctors also can use the network in other ways, including receiving Continuing Medical Education credits.
Pharmaceutical companies spend billions each year targeting physicians offline.
If they can aggregate doctors through the Internet, we see it as a very viable business model. If you're not simplifying his life, then you're complicating things. The company has applied for a patent on the delivery system, which, it says, uses standard Web protocols and a set of validations to optimize and compress data. Those who already have a computer can sign up for free. The computers are rented at a loss to Medcast, though.