Are Doctors Going Online Before, During and After Patient Consultations?
Physicians say that they research specific patient conditions online immediately before a patient consult an average of 3.4 times per week, according to the Kantar Media Sources & Interactions Study, March 2013 – Medical/Surgical Edition.
More than half of the physicians surveyed use the Internet before a patient consult at least once or twice per week.
When looking at what physicians are doing during a patient consult, most do not access Internet-based resources regarding a specific patient condition. Of those that do, 14% said they do so at least once or twice a day and in total, they do so an average of 2.5 times per week.
Looking at Internet usage immediately after the consult, the physicians surveyed said they do so an average of 4.1 times per week, with almost one-quarter (23%) doing so at least once or twice a day. Very few respondents (4%) never use Internet-based resources immediately after a patient consult.
Trend data shows that mean weekly usages before, during and after a patient consult have all increased year-over-year, suggesting that online medical resources are increasingly being incorporated into physicians’ daily work flow.
Kantar Media’s Sources & Interactions™ Studies offer a detailed examination of healthcare professionals’ online and mobile activities, e-detailing experience, and exposure to (and evaluation of) information sources including traditional and emerging media, pharma reps, CME, conventions and more. The Medical/Surgical edition, conducted every six months, reports on the media preferences and habits of more than 3,000 physicians across 21 specialties; annual studies provide similar perspective on Pharmacy, NP/PA, Eyecare, Dental, Radiology, Managed Care, and Hospital C-Suite audiences. Sources & Interactions was designed to help manufacturers and their agencies cost-effectively allocate resources to their overall promotional mix, and provide publishers with specific insight about where their offerings fit into physicians’ (and other healthcare professionals’) information inventory.
To find out more about the study and specialty-specific data, let us know.
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