New Study on Physician Online Behaviors Shows Health Care Professional Sites Reach 4 out of 5 Physicians, While …

RESTON, Va., Dec. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --comScore, Inc. (SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released new findings from a study based on data generated by the comScore/Symphony Health Care Professional (HCP) Measurement Solutions offering, which provides insight into the actual online behavior of physicians with regard to health-related categories, and the Physician Mobile Survey, a survey of physicians' attitudes toward mobile devices and tablets in the workplace. Based on a longitudinal study of a permission-based panel of 1,000 U.S. physicians, the study showed that HCP Content websites such as Medscape.com, which provide content or services catering specifically to physicians, reached the highest percentage of physicians (81 percent) in comparison to other types of health sites. However, Electronic Medical Records sites such as Allscripts.com showed higher engagement as physicians have begun to use these sites to replace paper record-keeping. The study also revealed that although computers are still the most often used device to go online at work by physicians, more than half of physicians expressed interest in using mobile phones and tablets in the workplace.

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"It has never been easier for physicians to access health information digitally in the workplace, which makes it important for health marketers to understand exactly how and when doctors are using online tools to do their work more efficiently," said John Mangano, vice president for comScore Health and Pharmaceutical Solutions. "With the health industry placing more emphasis on the potential of mobile platforms, marketers must also educate themselves on how physicians are currently integrating or plan to integrate smartphones and tablets into their digital work habits."

HCP Sites Reach Most Physicians, But Electronic Medical Records Show Highest EngagementIn Q1 2012, HCP Content sites reached the highest percentage of physicians at 81 percent and also showed the second-highest visitation frequency among different types of health sites. In contrast, Electronic Medical Records sites showed the lowest physician reach at only 4 percent, but exhibited the highest visitation frequency and most average time spent per physician for those now using electronic records to replace paper records. Physicians using tablets showed a greater propensity to access medical records on their tablets rather than mobile phones, suggesting that the reach of this category will likely only grow with further tablet adoption. Health Social Media sites (such as Sermo.com) now reach half of physicians going online, showing the largest growth in visitation over the past year. The Health Social Media category also had the largest share of visits from high-prescribing physicians, a priority target for many HCP marketers.

Percent Reach of Health Categories Among Physicians Q1 2012 Source: comScore/Symphony HCP Measurement Solutions

Health Category

% Reach of Physicians Online

Average Visits per Physician

Average Minutes per Physician

HCP Content

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New Study on Physician Online Behaviors Shows Health Care Professional Sites Reach 4 out of 5 Physicians, While ...