Physicians Turn to Digital Media

August 27, 2010

Physicians are increasingly turning to digital media as a source of health-related information to supplement their practice, according to data from the comScore/ImpactRx Physician Behavioral Measurement solution.

HCP Sites Account for Half of Physicians’ Time Spent on Health Content
In Q1 2010, 81% of physicians online visited health care professional (HCP) content destinations, making it the highest-reaching health-related subcategory among physicians. General Health Content, including sites such as WebMD.com and About.com Health, reached 75% of physicians, with Association sites reaching 67%. Pharma Support and Pharmaceuticals both reached half of physicians (51% and 50%, respectively).

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When looking at engagement, HCP content accounted for the largest share of physicians’ time spent on health sites at 48%, and captured the largest share of visits to health content at 33%. Strong engagement also occurred at Pharma Support sites (8% share of total minutes, 11% share of visits), Clinic sites (11% share of minutes, 6% share of visits) and Association sites (7% share of minutes, 8% share of visits).

Medscape.com Leads as Most-Visited Health Site by Physicians
comScore analysis of the top health sites visited by physicians revealed that Medscape.com was the most-visited HCP site and the most-visited overall health site during Q1 2010, reaching 57% of physicians. WebMD.com ranked as the top General Health Content site for physicians reaching 20.5%, while NIH.gov led as the most-visited government site reaching 30.5%.

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In the Pharmaceuticals category, Wyeth.com (now part of Pfizer) led with 6.3% of physicians visiting the destination, while DoctorDirectory.com led as the top Pharma Support site, reaching 22%.

Web Most Popular Health Resource
While medical professionals remain a keystone of the US healthcare delivery system, patients and caregivers are empowering themselves in record numbers when it comes to managing their own health and the health of their families, according to new data from Manhattan Research, which revealed that the internet surpassed physicians as the most popular health resource for the first time last year.

In related news, Manhattan Research also reported that the physician smartphone adoption rate is expected to reach 81% in 2012,

About the Data: The comScore/ImpactRx Physician Behavioral Measurement solution measures physicians’ actual online and mobile behaviors.

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