Online physicians reported spending eight hours online for professional purposes each week in 2010, according to a new Manhattan Research survey.
In 2006, online physicians reported spending four-and-a-half hours online each week for professional purposes, while online physicians in 2002 spent two-and-a-half hours online each week for professional purposes, according to the survey.
"In 2010, the conversation has shifted away from whether physicians are online to understanding the degree to which digital content is changing the way physicians practice medicine," Meredith Ressi, vice president of research at Manhattan Research, said, adding, "Professional use of smartphones and online user-generated content are no longer early adopter activities of a tech-savvy few -- these types of activities are the norm for the majority of physicians today."
Results are based on a Q1 2010 survey of a nationally representative sample of 2,033 U.S. practicing physicians.
Source: Manhattan Research, "Taking the Pulse v10.0"