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By Ed Silverman // March 31st, 2011 // 7:34 am
Control yourselves. This is all business. A new survey of nearly than 5,500 docs finds that ownership, not surprisingly, is up, with 67 percent of specialists and 61 percent of primary care physicians now possessing these addictive little appendages. Pediatricians are lagging a bit as only 59 percent admit to ownership, but that represents an 11 percent increase from last year."
And what about tablets? These, too, are gaining ground - 27 percent of both specialists and PCPs have one, although we do not know if they favor the iPad over the Nook or Kindle, for instance. However, this would suggest five times as many docs own a tablet compared with the population at large, according to Knowledge Networks, which conducted the survey (see the statement).
But what are they doing with these devices? Besides more shopping, they look at medical apps. About three-quarters of specialists and PCPs view Epocrates, which appears to be the most widely used app of this sort. In general, 40 percent of pediatricians use drug reference apps, compared with 30 percent among specialists. But only 6 percent of specialists and PCPs use apps from drugmakers.
There is more, though. Last year, 24 percent of PCPs used a smartphone or tablet for e-detailing, up from 18 percent, while specialists indicated a similar increase - 22 percent, up from 17 percent. And more of them are using the devices for online surveys (such as this one, no doubt); half of PCPs use them in this way, up from 31 percent. Ditto for specialists - 41 percent, up from 24 percent.
Separately, the docs were asked about sales reps, a question that comes up in so many surveys these days. And so, 61 percent of PCPs and 50 percent of specialists still maintaining an open door policy. Why? A face-to-face meeting is preferred by 79 percent of PCPs and 74 percent of specialists, although docs older than 55 skewed higher than those 40 and under. E-detailing was cited by only 23 percent of PCPs and 28 percent of specialists, with the over-55 set only slightly less enamored.
