Medscape is a web resource for physicians and other health professionals. It features peer-reviewed original medical journal articles, CME (Continuing Medical Education), a customized version of the National Library of Medicine's MEDLINE database, daily medical news, major conference coverage, and drug information—including a drug database (Medscape Drug Reference, or MDR) and drug interaction checker. All content in Medscape is available free of charge for professionals and consumers alike, but registration is required.
Founded in New York's Silicon Alley in May 1995 by SCP Communications, Inc. under the direction of Peter Frishauf, Medscape, Inc. had an IPO in September, 1999, trading on NASDAQ under the symbol MSCP (a tip-of-the-hat to its founding company, SCP, and to Netscape, whose symbol was NSCP). In May, 2000 Medscape merged with another public company, MedicaLogic, Inc. MedicaLogic filed for bankruptcy within 18 months, and sold Medscape to WebMD in December 2001.
In February, 1999, noted medical editor Dr. George D. Lundberg was hired as the editor-in-chief of Medscape. For 17 years prior to joining Medscape he had served as Editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Lundberg served in this role until he was terminated by WebMD in 2008. On January 30, 2009 it was announced that no new articles would be accepted for the Medscape Journal of Medicine, a Medscape journal Lundberg started in 1999.
A comparative analysis of Medscape Drug Reference versus Wikipedia concluded that drug monographs on Medscape Drug Reference were more comprehensive and Wikipedia articles had more errors of omission. That conclusion caught the attention of mainstream media.