Medicines not working? There's an app for that

Drugmakers are starting to get into bed with information technology companies as they struggle to prove the value of their medicines to governments and insurers. By using smart gadgets to monitor patients in real time, pharmaceutical companies believe they can improve clinical outcomes and establish the cost-effectiveness of treatments. The result, according to a report on Thursday from Ernst & Young, will be a host of new collaborations between pharmaceutical companies and businesses in non-traditional areas such as computing, telecoms and even retail.