THE DIGITAL i C C NOV 2015 HEALTH DEBATE i A REPORT ON HOW DOCTORS ENGAGE WITH DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IN THE WORKPLACE THE DIGITAL HEALTH DEBATE 2015 | ©CELLO HEALTH INSIGHT FOREWORD i C C i PAUL MANNU Master Practitioner, Behavioural Insights [email protected] Advances in digital technology have The research explores doctors’ perceptions Online interviews with become ubiquitous within healthcare, of how smart technology such as apps bringing about breakthroughs in diagnosis, and wearables can be used by patients to new treatment options and at the same better manage their health. time heralding the expansion of companies usually associated with technology into the The appendix section also includes our market place. findings on doctors’ preferences when 1,040 participating in research via a mobile app. certified doctors Enter Google Health, Apple Health, and Microsoft HealthVault. These major players Throughout this report, consideration has are accompanied by IBM with ‘Watson’, been given as to what the survey findings a new cognitive system that processes mean for pharmaceutical marketing information more like a human than a strategies. If you would like to know computer. IBM claim Watson will be able more about the specific relevance of this to ‘see’ medical images once its advanced research to marketing, sales and business image analytics and cognitive capabilities intelligence please get in touch. are merged with a newly acquired medical imaging management platform. For more information about the full extent of the survey research, please do not 8 The potential for these new and symbiotic hesitate to contact us. Markets relationships is vast and doctors are at the heart of it. As such, they are well placed www.cellohealthinsight.com to report from the front line on how digital advances are impacting healthcare quality and efficiency, and how these developments can potentially help them to make better patient care decisions. This report is a summary of findings from Cello Health Insight’s 2015 research survey of doctors across eight markets; including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the US, China and Brazil. The research explores the ways in which doctors are interacting with digital communication channels and digital devices in the workplace – focusing on how they are using these to exchange information and communicate with peers, pharmaceutical sales representatives, and of course with their patients. THE DIGITAL HEALTH DEBATE 2015 | ©CELLO HEALTH INSIGHT Contents 1 Uptake of digital technology and online platforms • Access to digital devices • Communication via digital channels • Social media use in a professional capacity 2 Influence of digital channels on prescribing • Comparison of information sources • Influence of social media on treatment decisions • Rise in use of tablets for representative visits 3 Impact of digital on the patient-doctor consultation • Researching conditions online • Self-diagnosis online • Patients presenting with a named prescription 4 Potential for mobile apps and wearables to help the patient • Extent to which doctors are recommending health apps • What doctors might recommend apps for • Barriers to take-up of apps and wearables 5 Key segments emerging from extent of sharing via digital channels • Defining user levels • Chain of influence 6 Appendix • Methodology • About Cello Health Insight • How doctors feel about participating in surveys via mobile apps 1 UPTAKE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AND ONLINE PLATFORMS THE DIGITAL HEALTH DEBATE 2015 | ©CELLO HEALTH INSIGHT | 01 ACCESS TO DIGITAL DEVICES There is a growing trend for doctors to use There are some interesting differences in digital technology to assist them in their the number of doctors who agree with the work. Doctors use their smartphones and following statement: smart devices to access the web for a wide range of purposes – from communicating with their patients and peers, to finding “I find my smartphone / tablet of82 doctors own information that will help them to diagnose so much easier to use than my or have access to or prescribe. work desktop / laptop.” a smartphone The smartphone has been widely adopted at work by doctors globally, and it has become a close companion from which they can obtain information. As connected devices Almost one third (32%) of all doctors offer easy access to the internet from any in the survey agree with this statement. location via Wi-Fi and mobile networks, Doctors in emerging markets were much they are ideal for doctors on the move, more likely to agree with this statement especially for specialists. compared with those in Europe (67% vs. 22%). Globally, our survey finds that82% of doctors own or have access to a In Brazil and China, the data suggests smartphone at work, and 77% of them that doctors have embraced tablets and report that they regularly use it at work smartphones, which presents interesting opportunities for pharmaceutical of doctors58 regularly for professional purposes. Of these, doctors in Brazil are the most likely to companies to access them in their search for work-related regularly use their smartphone (90%), professional life. information on followed by doctors in China at 85%. UK doctors follow at 82%, which is a higher The lower result for Europe, where their handheld number than in the other European smartphone use in the professional setting countries surveyed – Italy 73%, France seems less advanced, is potentially due 73%, Spain 79% and Germany 68% – to the need for systems in Europe to link and higher than the US (73%). in with other local and national Health Electronic Reporting (HER) systems – Globally, 58% of doctors regularly search something that is more difficult via for work-related information using their a smartphone. tablet or smartphone. With 81% doing so in Brazil and 76% in China, this again puts them ahead of the curve. 02 | THE DIGITAL HEALTH DEBATE 2015 | ©CELLO HEALTH INSIGHT COMMUNICATION VIA DIGITAL CHANNELS The research explored Text messaging the ways in which doctors Widely used across all markets to are adopting digital channels communicate with colleagues. Globally, into their preferred methods 68% of doctors use mobile texting to communicate with their peers. Almost of communicating with one third (30%) use it to communicate peers, pharmaceutical sales with their patients, and 18% with representatives, and pharmaceutical sales representatives. Use was particularly strong in Brazil their patients. and China (82%). WhatsApp / WeChat Phone calls of88 doctors have Embraced in China, Brazil and Italy for emailed their peers in Continue to be the primary channel of communicating with peers, patients and communication between doctors and pharmaceutical sales representatives. the last month patients across all markets. 89% of doctors reported talking on the phone France and the US are far behind other to colleagues in the last month, with countries in terms of using WhatsApp, 84% talking to patients, and 45% to or its equivalent – WeChat in China. pharmaceutical sales representatives. Doctors in Southern European markets, China and Brazil are using these platforms Email to communicate with peers, patients and 48report having pharmaceutical sales representatives. A major channel of professional emailed a patient in the communication between doctors, Only 2% of UK doctors and 4% of US same period with 88% surveyed having emailed their doctors report using WhatsApp to peers in the past month. 48% report communicate with patients in the previous having emailed patients in the last month, month, compared to 87% in Brazil, 61% in and 43% of doctors having used email to Italy and 50% in China. communicate with pharmaceutical sales representatives. 43report having emailed a pharma representative in the same period THE DIGITAL HEALTH DEBATE 2015 | ©CELLO HEALTH INSIGHT | 03 Web platforms Skype Offer an opportunity for a customised Has not taken off with doctors. While it is solution. Doctors are open to the idea often seen as having great potential for the of using dedicated web platforms to profession, less than 17% of doctors claim 33 communicate directly with patients, to have used the channel in the last month of doctors would like with one third (33%) of doctors globally to communicate with their peers, and only to communicate with agreeing with the statement: 4% with patients or pharmaceutical patients via a sales representatives. doctor-patient website “If I could communicate with Social media patients via a specialist doctor- patient website, it would be Has an increasingly important role to play in doctors’ peer-to-peer communications, more time-efficient.” but it is yet to take off for patient communication. 30% of doctors globally now claim to use consumer social media Doctors in Brazil and China were even to communicate with their peers. However, more likely to want to communicate in only 8% claim to use it to communicate this way, with 47% and 67% respectively with patients and pharmaceutical sales agreeing with the statement. representatives. Digital channels most commonly used by doctors to communicate: Communicating: with collegues with patients with pharma sales reps Phone calls 89% 84% 45% Email 88% 48% 43% Text 68% 30% 18% WhatsApp 31% 15% 12% Consumer social media 30% 8% 8% IM 25% 7% 5% Skype 17% 4% 4% WeChat 3% 1% 1% 04 | THE DIGITAL HEALTH DEBATE 2015 | ©CELLO HEALTH INSIGHT SOCIAL MEDIA USE IN A PROFESSIONAL CAPACITY There is wide regional variation in Wikipedia social media use, which pharmaceutical companies will need to understand for By comparison, the online encyclopedia / their strategy development. resource Wikipedia is used globally by about one half of doctors at work. The three social media channels used 63% of doctors in Brazil and China, 53% of global1 doctors2 use most widely at work ‘in the last month’ of doctors in Europe, and 42% of doctors Wikipedia at work for professional purposes are YouTube in the US report using it in the last month. (28%), LinkedIn (24%) and Google+ (21%). In Brazil and China there is significant use of YouTube in comparison to the other countries in the survey.