SearchMedica

Complimentary report analyzes Q4 2007 search query data to present trends and new findings in Oncology, General Medicine and Psychiatry

NEW YORK, February 13, 2008 – SearchMedica.com, the leading search engine for medical professionals, today unveiled the second in a series of quarterly reports intended to shed light on what clinical terms and conditions are most frequently queried on the Internet by doctors and practicing medical professionals. The SearchMedica Clinical Search Terms Quarterly Report™, launched in the third quarter of 2007, analyzes search trends across three therapeutic areas: cancer (oncology/hematology), general medicine and psychiatry. The new report is based on search query data from Q4 2007.

“While medical professionals can access much of the same information offline, they are choosing to leverage technology to access medical literature in a more convenient and timely manner,” said Cyndy Finnie, senior product manager for SearchMedica. “Many factors can motivate medical professionals to conduct a search, including the desire to stay informed about new developments or learn more about high profile topics, like the CDC study released last October that suggested Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (i.e. staph) infections were more common than previously thought.

“Seasonality also plays an important role, with special observations like awareness months and special events causing spikes in search volume,” she added. “But regardless of the factors driving the searches, the SearchMedica data enables us to identify the medical terms and conditions that are top-of-mind among medical professionals.”

The top five Q4 cancer-related searches by medical professionals were:
1. CNS metastases (Q3-’07 – breast cancer)
2. Prostate cancer (Q3-’07 – lung cancer)
3. Ovarian cancer (Q3-’07 – vertebroplasty metastases)
4. Medullary thyroid cancer (Q3-’07 – leukemia)
5. Pancreatic cancer (Q3-’07 – recurrent ovarian cancer)

The top five Q4 general medicine-related searches by medical professionals were:
1. Hypertension (Q3-’07 – cortisol)
2. Osteoporosis (Q3-’07 – HbA1c/glycated hemoglobin)
3. Diabetes (Q3-’07 – dopamine)
4. MRSA (Q3-’07 – aphthous ulcers)
5. Hypothyroidism (Q3-’07 – hypertension)

The top five Q4 psychiatric searches by medical professionals were:
1. Bipolar (Q3-’07 – mood stabilizer)
2. Borderline personality disorder (Q3-’07 – unipolar vs. bipolar depression)
3. OCD (Q3-’07 – asperger’s)
4. ADHD (Q3-‘07 – hypomania)
5. Depression (Q3-‘07 – bipolar)

SearchMedica provides clinicians with a specialist’s view of the Web and an easy-to-use interface leveraging the medical expertise of thought leading medical editors as well as practicing physicians to ensure that every result is clinically sound.

For instance, a Google search on the term “bipolar,” a mental disorder frequently in the news as of late, returns approximately 21 million results, most of which are inconsequential to clinicians. The same search nets a more manageable 40 thousand results on SearchMedica Psychiatry from some of the most credible online sources of medical literature for physicians and practitioners. The results can be even more targeted by allowing clinicians to refine the search via content category – peer-reviewed research, evidence-based medicine, etc.

According to Finnie, healthcare professionals who register may receive updates about new content and tips on how to use various advanced tools within SearchMedica. In addition to ranking search results according to relevance, SearchMedica also organizes results into categories such as practical articles and news, research reviews and editorials, evidence-based articles and meta-analyses, practice guidelines, clinical trials for patients, continuing medical education, and alternative-complementary medicine.

For the full SearchMedica Clinical Search Terms Quarterly Report™, email requests to ksmith@preturn.com.

SearchMedica.com recently was acknowledged for its outstanding user experience as a recipient of a 2007 Standard of Excellence WebAward.

About SearchMedica.com:
SearchMedica.com indexes only authoritative medical information, approved for inclusion by medical editors and a physician editorial board. Medical professionals receive more relevant, smaller sets of search results from SearchMedica.com than from mainstream engines, which contain consumer-oriented, paid testimonials and other types of unreliable information. Since SearchMedica.com is advertiser supported, medical professionals pay nothing to use the specialty search engine. All SearchMedica search results are independent and unbiased. They contain well-known, credible journals, peer-reviewed research, and evidence-based articles written for practicing healthcare professionals. SearchMedica is currently available at www.SearchMedica.com.