eHealth Comms Facts: January - February 2011 | Publicis Healthware International

FDA approves first radiology application for mobile devices

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved  for the first time a medical smart phone app for iPhone and iPad  that allows doctors to view and assess medical images.

"This important mobile technology provides physicians with the ability to immediately views images and make diagnoses without having to be back at the workstation or wait for film," William Maisel, chief scientist in the agency's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a prepared statement.

The application is the first cleared by the FDA for viewing images and making medical diagnoses based on computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and nuclear medicine technology, such as positron emission tomography (PET). Radiology images are compressed for secure network transfer, then sent to the appropriate portable wireless device via software called Mobile MIM.

In its evaluation, the FDA reviewed performance test results on various portable devices. These tests measured luminance, image quality (resolution), and noise in accordance with international standards and guidelines.

The physicians relationship with Pharma company is in decline

Today the vast majority of physicians are now digital. According to SDI Health’s most recent e-Promotion Annual Study, 73% of US physicians now consider e-detailing, online seminars, opinion leader events, web conferences and group discussions to be equal or superior to face-to-face promotion strategies.

This trend is transforming the relationship between Pharma and physicians. According to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the number of US primary care doctors that report a relationship with a Pharma company is in decline. The study found that in 2009, 84% of physicians said they had a relationship, compared with 94% in 2004.

It also showed that 64% of doctors accepted drug samples compared with 78 percent five years earlier. Further, only 18% percent said they received reimbursements from Pharma in 2009, down from 35% in 2004.

Medical apps are the third-fastest growing category

A recent study of Manhattan Research found that almost two-thirds of US physicians currently own smart phones, which projects the number to increase to 81% by 2012.

Physicians now spend a full work day each week online for professional reasons—that's up from just two-and-a-half hours in 2002—and that doctors are now using mobile devices to access clinical resources at multiple points throughout their day.

Also, medical apps are the third-fastest growing category for Apple, which saw a 133% jump in downloads last April. Two-thirds of physicians use mobile devices to look up medical information between patient visits, and a third during consultations, according to Manhattan Research. 

Physicians digital healthcare landscape

According to a recent comScore study, physicians spend 48% of their online time on professional sites. According to the study, the top sites in HCP and General Health Content are part of the WebMD network, while for the Social Media category, Sermo is the first one.

Source: comScore

Insight from the Publicis Healthware WebMonitor

3.20 is the average number of page views per visit on HCP websites in December 2010.