ReachMD, which provides medical news and information to healthcare practitioners, is raising its profile with the Continuing Medical Education, or CME, application for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch.

This is the first CME application that lets users to listen to all ReachMD Continuing Medical Education content, get regular updates on new Continuing Medical Education content and take Continuing Medical Education tests for credit, all from their iPhone or iPod touch. The application has attracted various sponsors, including Eli Lilly, Daiichi Sankyo, Genentech, Sucampo, Takeda, Astra Zeneca, Millenium Pharma and Sanofi-Aventis.

"This platform was created by medical professionals for medical professionals, including physicians, pharmacists, nurse practitioners and those in medical profession with a clinical bent, to provide continuing medical education for credit," said Gary Epstein, CEO of ReachMD, Chicago.

"We deliver the content in a variety of distribution channels, but the iPhone app has taken off beyond our wildest dreams, with more than 40,000 downloads in App Store since November," he said. "We're providing a cost-efficient format that allows medical professionals to take medical education tests and stay on top of what's going on in medicine.

"It's quick and free, which is a big deal in these economic times."

Mobile devices and wireless technology are revolutionizing the healthcare industry, according to a keynote presentation at the recent CTIA Wireless 2009: Mobile Life conference (see story).

Established to help increasingly time-constrained medical providers stay abreast of new research, treatment protocols and continuing education requirements, ReachMD delivers informative radio programming via XM Satellite Radio Channel 160 and online streaming developed by doctors for doctors.

The ReachMD CME iPhone application is a fully accredited Continuing Medical Education tool that gives healthcare practitioners a convenient way to earn free CME credits through their iPhone or iPod touch.

Now Continuing Medical Education content that ReachMD broadcasts on its XM satellite radio channel is available to iPhone and iPod touch users directly with this new application.

Doctors can download the ReachMD CME iPhone app to listen to the program and take the CME certification test from an iPhone, an iPod touch or the ReachMD Web site.

The ReachMD Continuing Medical Education iPhone app lets physicians go back to exams they were previously working on after taking a phone call and search for Continuing Medical Education programs by keywords.

The application automatically receives updates with new Continuing Medical Education programs and alerts for new programs and information.

"We're monetizing the platform with sponsorship of the programming and radio advertising," Mr. Epstein said. "The iPhone app is exclusively focused on continuing education content, with disclosure information about who provided the grant.

"We'll be rolling out a deeper app in June that will include a radio channel on a 24/7 basis, and we're looking at advertising on some of the landing pages," he said.

ReachMD will launch applications for RIM's BlackBerry and Google's Android this summer.

"This is the ultimate practical, convenient way to get high-quality content," Mr. Epstein said. "It's taken off with very little marketing to date -- it's grown very rapidly in a viral fashion."