81% of physicians visited Health Care Professional content websites in first-quarter 2010

comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, and ImpactRx, a pharmaceutical insights company, today released the first in a series of reports from the comScore/ImpactRx Physician Behavioral Measurement™ solution, a unique digital measurement solution that measures  physicians' actual online and mobile behaviors. The report found that 81 percent of physicians online visited Health Care Professional (HCP) content sites in Q1 2010, leading as the most-visited health-related content category among physicians. HCP sites also captured 48 percent of physicians' overall time spent on health-related sites, the largest share of any category.  

"Physicians are increasingly turning to digital media as a source of health-related information to supplement their practice," said John Mangano, comScore vice president of pharmaceutical marketing solutions. "The ability to understand physicians' actual online behavior rather than relying on recall-based surveys provides a more accurate view of how physicians' utilize the Internet as a health information resource. By understanding which health-related destinations are frequented by physicians, brand marketers and advertisers can effectively reach and engage this influential audience segment."

HCP Sites Account for Half of Physicians' Time Spent on Health Content

In Q1 2010, 81 percent of physicians online visited HCP content destinations, making it the highest reaching health-related sub-category among physicians. General Health Content, including sites such as WebMD.com and About.com Health, reached 75 percent of physicians, with Association sites reaching 67 percent. Pharma Support and Pharmaceuticals both reached half of physicians (51 percent and 50 percent, respectively).

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

Medscape.com Leads as Most-Visited Health Site by Physicians

An 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 the first quarter, reaching 57 percent of physicians. WebMD.com ranked as the top General Health Content site for physicians reaching 20.5 percent, while NIH.gov led as the most-visited government site reaching 30.5 percent. In the Pharmaceuticals category, Wyeth.com (now part of Pfizer) led with 6.3 percent of physicians visiting the destination, while DoctorDirectory.com led as the top Pharma Support site reaching 22 percent.