Physicians are facing unprecedented challenges at every turn.
Rising patient volumes and increasingly complex cases, an ongoing physician shortage affecting 76 million Americans in primary care deserts, and an expanding pipeline of specialty drugs that grew from $92.50 billion in 2023 to $129.23 billion in 2024 are creating immense pressure on healthcare providers. Simultaneously, patients are more informed than ever and expect swift, precise diagnoses and treatment plans that incorporate the latest medical advances.
These converging scenarios have created a critical need for rapid access to accurate clinical information. Physicians, more than ever, need real-world insights from trusted peers to validate their decisions and optimize patient care in ways that conventional medical resources simply cannot provide.
Real-world expertise: The missing piece in clinical decision support
While physicians have access to numerous reference tools, there is a significant gap between “gold standard” guidelines and the realities of treating real patients with complicated medical histories, multiple comorbidities and practical constraints. This gap becomes especially evident when considering the expanding field of specialty medications, where off label uses can provide valuable treatment options not covered by formal guidelines.
The healthcare industry’s growing reliance on data underscores this need. As one of the largest data generators globally – contributing roughly 30% of the world’s total data volume – healthcare organizations are continuously seeking better ways to harness this information for improved patient outcomes. According to McKinsey, AI, traditional machine learning and deep learning are projected to result in net savings of up to $360 billion in healthcare spending, but only if the right data can be effectively shared and leveraged at the point of care.
“ConsensusMD gives me the real-world experiences of practiced physicians like myself. That’s the next step that’s not offered in other places and which is critical for delivering the highest quality care.” – Steven Samuels, MD
Steven Samuels, MD
ConsensusMD: Transforming peer knowledge into actionable insights
Healthcasts’ ConsensusMD platform addresses these challenges by creating a powerful ecosystem for healthcare professional consultation and real-world experience sharing. This AI-powered research tool combs through Healthcasts’ proprietary database of peer-to-peer consultations and case studies to identify and validate the best treatment choices for patients in real time.
The platform offers several key features that significantly enhance physicians’ ability to make confident clinical decisions:
- Top Related Treatments aggregates treatment recommendations for any searched disease, highlighting consensus insights so healthcare professionals can quickly validate their treatment decisions against real-world experience.
- Frequently Mentioned Insights highlights critical information related to administering specific drugs, including side effects, modes of administration, dosing and cost considerations.
- Most Relevant Consults showcases the top perspectives from the database for complicated clinical scenarios or rare diseases where there may not be a clear consensus.
By presenting easy-to-understand consensus summaries, ConsensusMD allows healthcare professionals to validate their diagnoses and treatment decisions by drawing on second opinions from thousands of trusted providers in real-time.
Making a measurable difference in clinical practice
The impact of ConsensusMD is already evident in daily clinical practice.
More than three quarters (76%) of healthcare professionals using the platform in their practice do so to help guide patient decisions. Perhaps even more significantly, 66% of HCPs have adjusted their treatment plans based on information exchanged through Healthcasts, demonstrating the platform’s direct influence on patient care.
The platform’s practical value is further highlighted by diving into usage patterns – 80% of HCPs utilize the platform during office hours, often with patients during appointments, with an average session time of four and a half minutes. This shows physicians are actively engaging with the platform to either share their expertise or gain from the experience of others during critical clinical moments.
Moreover, 87% of HCPs report using real-world peer data daily to guide patient management, demonstrating how the platform serves as part of a continuous learning journey and is regularly updated with new insights from the field.
ConsensusMD provides particular value for physicians practicing in smaller clinics or rural areas, who may lack ready access to specialist colleagues. By consolidating physician and specialist opinions, the platform enables clinicians without immediate access to colleagues to still benefit from a diverse community of expertise, and thus close significant knowledge gaps across specialties.
The future of clinical knowledge sharing
As healthcare challenges intensify with aging populations, physician shortages and increasingly complex treatments, the importance of real-time access to accurate clinical data will only become more critical. ConsensusMD is continuously evolving with ongoing enhancements and feature developments that respond to the changing needs of healthcare professionals.
Its expanding database of real-world clinical experiences will become an ever more valuable resource as the gap between clinical trial data and real-world implementation widens. By facilitating rapid knowledge exchange and consensus development, ConsensusMD helps the healthcare community adapt more quickly to emerging treatments, changing practice patterns, and evolving standards of care.
Thousands of engaged healthcare professionals are making treatment decisions on the Healthcasts platform every day, consulting peers and utilizing ConsensusMD at the critical moment of care. This presents a unique opportunity for pharmaceutical and healthcare brands to become part of these high-value clinical conversations, reaching decision-makers exactly when they’re seeking guidance on treatment options.
To learn how your brand can become part of these critical clinical conversations and reach engaged healthcare professionals at the point of decision-making, contact Healthcasts today at www.healthcastsmedia.com or email [email protected].