Drugmakers Create Mobile Phone Apps to Track Diabetes, Cancer
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Drugmakers led by Merck & Co. and Novartis AG boosted investments in mobile phone applications and educational websites by 78 percent to get patients to take their drugs, eat right and exercise, an Ernst & Young report found.
Pharmaceutical companies initiated 97 projects last year aimed at using information technologies to improve patient health, according to the report by the New York-based consulting firm, which relied on analyst reports and press releases to reach its tally. That compares with 124 projects started in the four prior years combined. About 41 percent of the projects were smartphone applications, an increase from 11 percent since 2006.