Doctors.net.uk reports record year for online interaction with doctors
pharmafile | April 29, 2010 | News story | Medical Communications | CME, doctors.net, social networking
Online doctors’ community Doctors.net.uk says it saw record levels of doctor engagement in 2009, with 25 million unique web sessions during the year.
Surges in activity were reported across the network’s clinical discussion fora and news pages during the outbreak of swine flu in April 2009, and when bad weather left doctors and patients snow-bound in February 2009.
The company says the statistics demonstrate the reliance that doctors have on online resources that can be accessed remotely, especially during times of disruption.
Doctors.net.uk claims to be the UK’s largest and most active network of medical professionals, and is one of a number of European clinician community sites now gathering momentum.
It says the trends also indicate a step change in doctors’ online behaviour, with greater usage of multimedia content. The greatest growth came from accessing medical conference highlights, which showed a near five-fold increase over 2007.
This was coupled with spikes in use of the site’s podcasts, with more than one in eight members accessing the latest interviews during the final quarter of 2009. Recent podcasts have included input from Niall Dickson, chief executive of the GMC, and chief medical officer Professor Sir Liam Donaldson.
Similarly, the network experienced growth in usage of its email and news functions with email page impressions doubling between 2007 and 2009. It saw 90% of all members utilising the facility in December 2009.
It also reports a trend towards greater levels of interaction, with doctors returning for new insights or the opportunity for immediate peer discussion, namely the forum, the topical bulletin and news.
Dr Tim Ringrose, medical director at Doctors.net.uk, believes an increased confidence and familiarity with professional online resources is behind the changes. He argues that doctors have now reached a threshold of trust and understanding that enables them to use the network to their advantage – to improve professional efficiency and effectiveness.
He said: “Whether doctors’ needs are to gather information, receive time-critical updates or to share advice and opinion with their colleagues, there is clearly real demand for trustworthy online resources.
“With doctors becoming more and more online savvy, the onus is now on the healthcare sector – whether pharmaceutical, medical devices, public sector or otherwise – to tune in and respond to the new challenges and opportunities presented by online engagement.
“The leap in usage of learning modules, conference highlights and podcasts is illustrative of opportunities that can be harnessed by the sector. As trust grows, more and more doctors are turning to such services for relevant updates or to gain insights from thought leaders – an opportunity that, due to time constraints, would otherwise pass them by. The uptake is tremendous, for example in 2009, 56,088 unique doctors took part in online CME activities.”
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