Study: 62 Percent of Physicians Using Tablets

A new report from healthcare market and advisory firm Manhattan Research indicates physicians’ device and digital media adoption is increasing at a much faster than anticipated rate, especially when it comes to tablets. The study surveyed 3,015 U.S. practicing physicians online in Q1 2012 across more than 25 specialties and found physician tablet adoption for professional purposes almost doubled since 2011, reaching 62 percent in 2012.

According to the report, the iPad is the dominant platform. Additionally, one-half of tablet-owning physicians have used their device at the point-of-care. The number of physicians with three screens (tablets, smartphones and desktops/laptops) increased, as those professionals spend more time online on each device and go online more often during the workday than physicians with one or two screens.

“Physicians are evolving in ways we expected – only faster,” sMonique Levy, vice president of research at Manhattan Research said in a statement. “The skyrocketing adoption rates of tablets alone, especially iPads, means healthcare stakeholders should revisit many of their assumptions about reaching and engaging with this audience.”

One thing that stayed stagnant from last year to this year was the adoption of physician-only social networks. Additionally, the study found that physicians reach out more frequently to and are more influenced by colleagues they formed relationships with at school or at work than peers who they first connected with online. More than two-thirds of physicians use video to learn and keep up-to-date with clinical information.