Franklin Electronic Publishers

Franklin Electronic Publishers is a consumer electronics and software company that specialized in handheld electronic reference devices. Within the healthcare sector, the company was a pioneer in providing digital, portable versions of essential medical texts, including the Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR), The Merck Manual, and Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. These handheld devices provided healthcare professionals and students with rapid access to drug information, diagnostic criteria, and clinical guidelines at the point of care. Although the rise of smartphones eventually superseded dedicated handheld devices, Franklin played a foundational role in the early digitization of medical knowledge and health informatics.