According to a recent New York Times article, technology is streamlining today’s medical practices and reducing medical costs. With online appointment scheduling, medical journals going digital, and virtual medical conferences now available, it’s no wonder that physicians are logging on more frequently. Epocrates (ppt) re
ports upward of 70% of physicians are now online daily. Nearly 40% of respondents reported using the internet for clinical information 2-4 times per day, and another 20% log on 5 or more times each day. For 76% of the physicians surveyed by Epocrates, the number of hours spent online has increased over last year.
Manhattan Research is reporting similar findings in its survey, the ePharma Physician v8.0 study,which takes an in-depth look at the estimated 84% of the U.S. physician population interacting with pharmaceutical, device and biotech companies online. According to the survey, the number of physicians who use the internet and other digital technologies to access pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical-device information has grown by 20% since 2004.
The Manhattan Research study breaks down the online activities of the medical professionals surveyed. The survey reports that physicians are opting to conduct routine activities online, instead of through sales representatives. Among the fastest growing online activities for doctors are online medical journals and online professional conferences, with both seeing double-digit growth over the past three years. Physicians say they plan to increase time spent on both these online activities in the future. A brief summary of the study is available on the web at Marketingcharts.com.
