Physician Smartphone Adoption Rate to Reach 81 percent in 2012

Physician smartphone adoption rates will experience significant growth over the next few years. Currently, 64% of U.S. physicians own smartphones, but this will increase to 81% penetration in 2012, according to the latest physician report from pharmaceutical and healthcare company Manhattan Research. "Physicians in 2012: The Outlook for On Demand, Mobile, and Social Digital Media", is part of the company's Taking the Pulse® market research and strategic advisory service. The report looks at how physician use of emerging technologies such as mobile and social media will evolve in 2012 and serves as a guide for manufacturers and publishers looking to leverage imminent digital opportunities.

While the last few years saw strong growth in the share of physicians starting to use digital media for work, the next couple of years will see the evolution of a more mature and proficient physician audience. With this shift, the Internet will become physicians' primary professional resource. Mobile will become even more indispensable to physicians as they start to expand the range activities they perform on these devices to include administrative tasks and patient monitoring.

"By 2012, all physicians will walk around with a stethoscope and a smart mobile device, and there will be very few professional activities that physicians won't be doing on their handhelds. Physicians will be going online first for the majority of their professional needs and will be regularly pulling online resources into patient consultations," said Monique Levy, Senior Director of Research at Manhattan Research. "Understanding the shifts that are occurring is essential for manufacturers, especially as many are reevaluating their sales model overall at this time."

Report Outline
Title: Physicians in 2012: The Outlook for On Demand, Mobile, and Social Digital Media

Introduction

I. Mobile Outlook

• Figure 1-1: Adoption of Smartphone/PDAs Through 2012
• Figure 1-2: Characteristics of Smartphone/PDA Users and Non Smartphone/PDA Users
• Figure 1-3: Smartphone OS/Manufacturer Outlook
• Figure 1-4: Activities on Smartphones/PDA Outlook
• Close-Up 1-1: Examples of Emerging Mobile Products and Services
• Figure 1-5: Activities Physicians Prefer Doing on Mobile Devices

II. Social Media Outlook

• Figure 2-1: User-Generated Content Outlook
• Figure 2-2: Types of User-Generated Content
• Close-Up 2-1: Example of Surgery Video on YouTube
• Figure 2-3: Physician Social Network Outlook
• Close-Up 2-2: Examples of Physician Social Networks
• Figure 2-4: Physician Adoption of General Social Networks for Professional and Personal Purposes
• Figure 2-5: Frequency of Use of Various Online Resources

III. On Demand Outlook

• Figure 3-1: Share of Physicians Going Online Daily
• Figure 3-2: Occasions When Physicians Access the Internet
• Figure 3-3: Channel Adoption Across Professional Activities
• Figure 3-4: Weekly Use of Online Resources 2008-2009

Conclusion and Key Takeaways

For an excerpt from the module and more information about its contents, please visit: http://www.manhattanresearch.com/products/Research_Modules/Physician/physicians-2012-mobile-social-media.aspx [1]

Access to the "Physicians in 2012" research module is immediately available to subscribers of Manhattan Research's Taking the Pulse® v9.0 market research and strategic advisory service. For more information about subscribing to this service and gaining access to the in-depth physician market data and analysis, visit http://www.manhattanresearch.com/products/Strategic_Advisory/ttp/default.aspx [2].

About Taking the Pulse® v9.0
Taking the Pulse® v9.0 is a market research and strategic advisory service focused on which technologies physicians have adopted, how they are currently using them, and how they plan to use them in the future. The study was conducted in Q1 2009 among a nationally representative sample of 1,900 practicing U.S. physicians.

Broad physician market research can be segmented to provide insight to the technology adoption and integration trends for over twenty specialist groups. To view all available specialist segments, as well as to request a complimentary report card of the digital trends of your target physician audience, please visit http://www.manhattanresearch.com/products/Specialist_Segmentations/default.aspx [3]

About Manhattan Research
Manhattan Research, a Decision Resources, Inc. company, is a leading market research and advisory services firm for global pharmaceutical and healthcare companies. For more information, visit www.manhattanresearch.com [4].

About Decision Resources, Inc.
Decision Resources, Inc. is a cohesive portfolio of companies that offers best-in-class, high-value information and insights on important sectors of the healthcare industry. Clients rely on this analysis and data to make informed decisions. Please visit Decision Resources, Inc. at www.decisionresourcesinc.com [5].