Medscape
AcquiredNewark, US · Founded 1995 · 927 employees on LinkedIn · 1 known investors
Medscape is an online platform providing medical news, clinical information, and continuing education resources to physicians and healthcare professionals globally. The platform offers CME courses, drug and disease information, and patient education across multiple specialties.
Also known as Medscape from WebMD · Medscape, LLC
Investors · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Medscape is an online medical information service for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, residents, medical students and other healthcare professionals. Its editorial network publishes clinical news, expert commentary and columns across more than 30 specialties — including cardiology, oncology, neurology, psychiatry, dermatology, emergency medicine, infectious diseases and pediatrics — alongside coverage from more than 200 medical conferences worldwide, business-of-medicine reporting, case studies and quiz formats such as Fast Five Quiz.
A second pillar is point-of-care reference: Medscape Reference provides drug, OTC and herbal monographs, disease and condition articles, guideline summaries, laboratory medicine, anatomy and procedure content, plus tools including a drug interaction checker, pill identifier, medical calculators, formulary information and Medline access. Medscape Education (medscape.org) offers free CME/CE courses across 30+ specialty destinations in multiple formats (video, patient simulations, animations, games, text, podcasts) from a Joint Accredited provider, with credit types including AMA PRA Category 1 Credits, ANCC, AAPA, ACPE, ABIM MOC, CONAMAGE and FPM.
The company also produces recurring survey-based research such as the Medscape State of the Medical Profession Index Report, physician compensation and mental health/well-being reports, and infographics; runs a Manhattan television studio with an on-site production team; operates community and events properties including Medscape Consult and MedscapeLIVE!; and distributes mobile apps for iOS and Android that add AI-driven features (an AI search, a Scribe transcription/summarization tool and a Dialer).
Founding story
Medscape was founded by Peter Frishauf with five coworkers and launched on May 22, 1995 as the first site to give any registered user — consumer or clinician — free access to trusted medical information previously restricted to journal or online-service subscribers, and subsequently the first to offer free Medline access to all registered users. Its original motto was 'the online resource for better patient care.'
Business model
Medscape provides free membership and free access to its news, reference tools and continuing medical education, operating as a professional media and education platform within WebMD Health Corp. Its apps carry advertising, and the About page references an advertising policy, a grants department and a Publishers' Circle, indicating sponsorship- and grant-supported education alongside advertising.
Content and education are free to registered members; monetization is indicated through advertising (the Android listing notes the app contains ads), advertising and editorial policies, and educational grants solicited via a dedicated grants department.
Traction
Company materials report more than 6.5 million physicians reached worldwide and over 13 million app downloads; the Google Play listing shows 5M+ downloads with a 4.3 rating from about 63,800 reviews, and the Apple App Store listing shows a 3.6 rating from about 1,400 ratings and a #182 rank in Medical. The reference library spans 8,000+ drug monographs and 7,600+ disease and condition articles.
Latest developments
Medscape's 2026 output includes daily clinical news, the Medscape State of the Medical Profession Index Report 2026 (August 2026) and Physician Friendships Report 2026, and conference coverage such as ESC 2026 in Munich. The mobile app, updated in August 2026, has shifted toward AI-driven features (AI Search, Scribe, Dialer), and multi-language AI responses are offered even though the app interface remains English-only.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positioned as the leading global online destination for physicians and healthcare professionals; company materials cite a reach of more than 6.5 million physicians worldwide, and its founder states that virtually every US clinician and most clinicians internationally use the service. It sits within the WebMD Health Professional Network alongside MDedge, Frontline, PulsePoint, WebMD Ignite, Jobson Healthcare Information, MNG Health, Sanovaworks, Univadis, Jim.fr, Coliquio, MediQuality, Saned and QxMD.
Combines original journalism from a professional editorial staff, expert columnists, an extensive clinical reference library (8,000+ drug monographs; 7,600+ disease, condition and procedure articles), accredited free CME/CE, proprietary survey research, and clinical tools in a single free, registration-based platform available in multiple languages and localized editions.
Technology
Web platform plus mobile applications offering offline article access, 450+ specialty-grouped medical calculators, drug interaction checker, pill identifier, step-by-step procedural videos, and prescribing/safety data on 9,200+ drugs, herbals and supplements. Recent app releases add AI capabilities: AI Search for clinical questions (with multi-language responses and a published AI disclaimer), Scribe for real-time transcription and summarization of patient visits, and Dialer for calling patients from an office number.
Go-to-market
Free registration gives members unlimited access to the whole network of Medscape sites and services, distributed via the web, iOS and Android apps, email alerts, podcasts, social channels, in-language regional editions and live events (MedscapeLIVE!, conference coverage).
Physicians, specialists, primary care clinicians, nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, residents and medical students worldwide; commercially, healthcare and pharmaceutical marketers and education funders.
Geography
Headquartered in New York, with a corporate/mailing address at 283-299 Market Street, 2 Gateway Center, 4th Floor, Newark, New Jersey 07102, and a television studio in Manhattan. Localized editions and in-language versions cover the UK, German, Spanish, French and Portuguese markets, with country-specific operations added in Spain, Germany, the UK and Benelux through acquisitions.
History
Launched in 1995 with a handful of editorial staff, Medscape grew to a professional staff of more than 100 curating dozens of specialty sections, added CME/CE, multiple databases and mobile applications roughly a decade after launch, and marked its 25th anniversary in 2020. Ownership changed hands five times after founding; entities associated with it have included SCP Communications, Medscape Inc and MedicaLogic-Medscape, and it is now WebMD Health Corp.'s flagship global brand, WebMD itself being an Internet Brands company (Internet Brands is a portfolio company of KKR and Temasek). Under WebMD, Medscape has pursued a strategic growth plan acquiring country-specific clinical information providers: MediQuality (Benelux) in 2018, Coliquio (Germany) in 2020, MGP (UK) in 2021 and Grupo SANED (Spain) in 2023.
Risks & controversies
User reviews on the app stores raise complaints about the AI-focused redesign of the app, slow load times and unresponsive behavior, stale news feeds, lack of font-size controls and the absence of non-English app interface languages; one reviewer flagged concern about AI-generated content appearing in articles. The Android listing notes the app collects location and personal information categories.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 7
launches, deals, and filingsThe Medscape app (iOS and Android) offers AI-driven Scribe visit transcription/summarization, a Dialer for calling patients from an office number, and AI Search; the Android listing was updated on August 4, 2026.
WebMD Health Corp. announced the acquisition of Madrid-based Grupo SANED, a Spanish medical education, scientific communications and clinical news provider with 40+ years of operation, adding more than 200,000 registered HCPs and 1 million Spanish-speaking consumers. Grupo SANED continues as an independent WebMD subsidiary; terms were not disclosed.
Medscape/WebMD acquired UK clinical and health information provider MGP.
Medscape/WebMD acquired German physician information platform Coliquio.
Medscape received multiple 2020 Telly Awards for video and web-series education programming, and was a 2020 MM&M Awards finalist for Medscape Education's recommendation engine and as a Healthcare Professional Media Brand.
Medscape/WebMD acquired Benelux healthcare professional information provider MediQuality as part of its country-specific growth plan.
Medscape launched as a site offering any registered user free access to clinical information previously limited to journal or professional online-service subscribers, later adding free Medline access for registered users.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Medscapemedscape.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Medscape do?
- Medscape is a WebMD-owned online destination for physicians and health professionals, offering medical news, drug and disease reference, and CME.
- Who are Medscape's investors?
- Medscape's investors include The Argentum Group.
- Where is Medscape headquartered?
- Medscape is headquartered in Newark, US.