Physicians Using Tablets for CME Credits, Research, Accessing Medical Records

by Client Services

27% of doctors use a tablet device to complete CME credits/units and one out of three of the surveyed physicians use these devices to research general medical issues or specific clinical situations, according to the Sources & Interactions Study, March 2015: Medical/Surgical Edition. Furthermore, tablets are used by 55% of all physicians for professional purposes, according to current wave data from the study. The current wave data also found that 53% of doctors say they use a tablet for personal and professional purposes, 19% for personal use only and 3% only for professional purposes. 

Overall, more doctors are using smartphones for professional purposes than tablets, but there are certain tasks that they are more likely to perform on a tablet. For example, 27% of doctors use a tablet to complete CME credits/units while only 19% use a smartphone. 21% of physicians use tablets to access/maintain medical records and only 12% use a smartphone. 

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.

If you need specialty-specific data, let us know. We study physician media behaviors and preferences annually across 22 specialties.