Sources & Interactions Study: Medical/Surgical Edition

by Kantar Media Healthcare Research Team

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.

What insights are available?

• Sources of Information Importance & Frequency of Exposure
• Tools used for various tasks
• Frequency of Internet access
• Time spent using the Internet for professional purposes
• Degree of professional smartphone usage
• Detailing participation

How is data collected?

The data in this report are comprised of two six month data collection periods. The most recent six month cycle of data were gathered via mail questionnaires between October 2012 and January 2013 as well as an online survey in January 2013. A portion of the sample received an original mailing in October and a follow-up in December, while the other portion of the sample received an email invitation to an online survey in January.

What's new in 2013?

This report includes two waves of data (May 2012–August 2012 and October 2012–January 2013) for increased data stability.

New questions:

• Detailing: Most Recent e-Detail Participation, e-Detail Future Participation (Among Previous Participants and Among Previous Non-Participants), and Average Time Spent During e-Detail Presentation.
• Mobile Device Usage: Smartphone Usage for Professional Use, Personal Use, Both, or Neither. Medical Journals/Newspapers/Magazines now listed as App Type in Smartphone/Tablet Usage.

New digital trend charts:

• Internet Usage: Mean Weekly Uses & Mean Minutes Per Session (2008-Present).
• Mobile Device Usage for Professional Purposes: Smartphone (2007-Present) and Tablet (2011-Present).

Additional data:

• In all tables and sections, data are now reported for Office-Based Physicians and Hospital-Based Physicians.
• In “Tools Used,” there is a new column for “Any Digital,” defined as unduplicated usage of each task done on a Computer, Smartphone and/or Tablet.
• In “Publication Versions Read,” we are reporting a new table summarizing whether people read Print-Only, Digital-Only, Both Print & Digital, or Neither. This is in addition to the table showing the different versions read.

Supplemental data on tablet/smartphone usage — due to the rapid adoption of mobile technologies by physicians, this edition of the report includes a "bonus" set of tables representing current-wave-only data on these emerging technologies.

For more information on how to get full access to the study, contact us.