China latest market for NZ online medical review company

A New Zealand-developed web-based medical research review set up in 2006 by David Cadzow and Dr Shaun Holt is expanding into China.

The company, Research Review, essentially screens the “tsunami of medical literature” doctors are required to keep up with to provide relevant studies and analysis, according to chief executive James Armstrong.

The company searches the world’s 10,000 medical journals for research of major significance that has the potential to change medical practice and provides it free to members, with specialist comment.

A Chinese company in Beijing had been specifically established for the licensing agreement and this week secured official registration to provide services to the medical community.

Mr Armstrong said the licensing format worked well. “The health sector can be quite different from market to market. Some of them we don’t know much about so it’s much better to have a licensing agreement with local knowledge on the ground.”

Research Review began in New Zealand by sending one publication to a group of colleagues, but now has over 40 titles in four countries (New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and China), said founder David Cadzow.

The “leap” into China presented massive challenges that would test the company’s existing systems ability to handle large volumes, he said.

China’s Western-trained doctors alone numbered about 1 million, compared to New Zealand’s 3,000 GP’s, according to Mr Armstrong, but the country was fairly well developed and technology could only improve, he said.

Mr Cadzow said the move into Australia two years ago was a relatively obvious step.

“We are very excited about China and are fortunate to have an experienced team we know and trust to make it a success. We are currently exploring several other countries and actively looking for partners in other markets.”

Mr Armstrong said those markets included South East Asian countries, but the model could work for any group of busy professionals with a requirement to keep up to date.

The health sector and other collegial sectors were particularly suited and the company was looking into other areas such as the veterinary sector.

Research Review China chief editor Christine Zhao said doctors needed continuous education to ensure their knowledge was up to date but struggled to cope with the volume of information along with their daily workload, but the review could keep readers up to date quickly and efficiently.

“As Research Review expands to other countries, it has the potential to create a platform where medical professionals can connect to each other, share their knowledge and build up a medical society without geographical boundaries.”

“The Chinese medical community is eager to benefit from other countries medical expertise and to share their own experiences. The prospect of being able to access advice from the best international experts in any area is very exciting and can be realised through connecting with the Research Review membership in other countries.”