Taking the Pulse Europe study provides data on physician behaviors, preferences with pharmaceutical companies

Pharmaceutical and healthcare market research company Manhattan Research releases its latest Taking the Pulse® Europe study, which explores how physicians in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom use the Internet and technology for their practices and professional purposes. The research also provides data on physician behaviors and preferences regarding their interaction with pharmaceutical companies and sales reps. This year's Taking the Pulse® Europe v10.0 features expanded research sections on patient education, social, online video, and mobile, including adoption of iPads and other tablets.

Key findings from the Taking the Pulse® Europe study are:

• Mobile is playing an increasingly important role in the healthcare professional landscape in Europe. As in the U.S., smartphone adoption is on the rise, with 69% of online physicians in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, or the United Kingdom owning these devices.
• While most online European physicians are generally comfortable reading professional materials in English and visit various U.S. websites, the majority of physicians visit pharma websites from their own country rather than U.S.-based ones when looking for pharma product information.
• Patient education is also an area of interest for physicians in 2011. Most online European physicians share patient education materials with their patients and more than half recommend websites to them.
• Physician social networking has experienced strong growth in Europe in the past year - one-quarter of online European physicians used closed professional online communities in 2010.