Majority of Physicians Use Smartphones for Work Reasons

by Client Services

Four in five physicians use smartphones for work reasons, according to current wave data from the Sources & Interactions Study, March 2015: Medical/Surgical Edition. Further, over half (52%) use both a smartphone and a tablet for work reasons. 

Just six years ago, only half of doctors used these devices for work, but now almost all have opted to use smartphones to make their work-lives easier. Over the last year, the percent of physicians using smartphones has shown some growth. There has only been a 6% increase over the last year, with 95% of physicians under the age of 35 using smartphones for professional purposes. 

Full-year data shows that over half (51%) of all physicians say they use their smartphones to reference drug data, 48% use it to find/perform clinical calculations and 36% use the devices to research general medical issues or specific clinical situations. The study also found that 35% of all doctors make prescribing decisions by smartphone. Further, 30% use their smartphone for professional news updates and 28% use them for peer-to-peer social networking. 

The Sources & Interactions™ Study is a detailed examination of doctors’ online and mobile activities, e-detailing experience, and exposure to (and evaluation of) information sources including traditional and emerging media, pharma reps, CME, convention and more. The study is conducted every six months and targets more than 3,000 physicians annually across 22 specialties, exploring their media preferences and habits. Sources & Interactions was designed to help marketers 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 get access to specialty-specific data, contact us now.