Sermo Reaches 260,000 Physicians

NEW YORK, April 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- WorldOne, the global leader in healthcare data collection, insights and intelligence, announced today that Sermo, the leading online medical community, has grown to over 260,000 US physicians—a 30 percent increase over the 200,000 members reported in October 2013. Through iConsult, Sermo's clinical crowdsourcing application, members are collaborating to improve diagnoses, treatments and patient outcomes around the world.

To date, physicians have posted tens of thousands of cases on Sermo, and the time to resolution has dropped dramatically since last November when iConsult received its last major update.  Product enhancements – including web authorship, an improved UI and design, and "expert targeting" – have bolstered the value to physicians, leading to both membership growth and greater responsiveness from existing members.

"By focusing on value at the point of care and assembling the largest supportive community of medical experts, Sermo is drawing interest from physicians across a variety of clinical settings," said Peter Kirk, CEO of WorldOne. "The success of Sermo demonstrates how a 'community with a purpose' can transcend borders and transform the medical world at the point of care."

iConsult allows physicians to collaborate in real-time, crowdsource expertise and bring the collective knowledge of the Sermo community to some of the toughest patient cases. Although many successes go unreported, over 50% of iConsult cases posted are reported as "Solved on Sermo," and over the past several months, the average solve time has declined from more than 100 hours to under 20 hours.

"There's a reason Sermo is experiencing another period of hyper growth coupled with all-time high engagement levels," said Jon Michaeli, SVP of global community at WorldOne. "We've become the hub for scientific discussion, clinical collaboration, healthcare thought leadership, and learning throughout the medical world. We see again and again how Sermo helps physicians in critical moments and delivers resources that save lives. That's what makes Sermo different from any other healthcare social network or community."

To learn more about Sermo, visit www.sermo.com

About WorldOne 
WorldOne is the global leader in healthcare data collection, insights and intelligence. Headquartered in New York with 18 regional offices across North America, South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, WorldOne brings online and offline access to medical professionals through a range of differentiated products and services. In July 2012, WorldOne acquired Sermo, the largest online physician community in the United States, to provide an expanded platform for its Global Networked Community comprising over 1.8 million healthcare professionals spanning 80 countries, including more than 385,000 US physicians. For more information visit: www.worldone.com.

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SOURCE WorldOne