Physician adoption of tablet computers for professional purposes has almost doubled since 2011, and Apple's iPad is the dominant tablet platform in use, according to a study by healthcare market research and advisory firm Manhattan Research.
The company's Taking the Pulse U.S. 2012 study also found that half of tablet-owning physicians have used their device at the point of care. Manhattan Research surveyed 3,015 practicing U.S. physicians online across more than 25 specialties in the first quarter of 2012.
In other findings, the firm determined that physicians who have three screens (tablets, smartphones, and desktops/laptops) spend more time online on each device and go online more often during the workday than physicians with one or two screens.
More than two-thirds of physicians reported using video to learn and keep current with clinical information, according to Manhattan Research. Adoption of physician-only social networks remained flat between 2011 and 2012, with physicians indicating that they reach out more frequently to and are more influenced by colleagues they formed relationships with at school or at work than peers with whom they first connected online.
