The Doctor is In, But is Mobile?

Here's some news that contradicts all the stories about the rapid rise of mobile technology.

According to a recent survey by the consulting firm Deloitte, the healthcare industry is not exactly falling over itself embracing mobile means.

This particular study, which consulted 613 physicians, found that a stunning 57 percent do not use mobile technology for clinical purposes. This means they don't access electronic health records (EHRs), practice writing prescriptions via “e-prescribing,” or communicate with patients using a mobile device.

Further, 78 percent of the doctors surveyed by Deloitte claimed that they do not have any intent of switching over to mobile in the near future.

But it's hard to accept this survey as truth, when you consider a recent survey from Manhattan Research that came up with drastically different numbers. The report revealed that 73 percent of physicians have adopted tablet computers, primarily the iPad. That same 2,950-physician survey found that 70 percent of physicians use the medical reference app Epocrates on their smartphones, while 50 percent operate the app on the their tablets.

Then there's the study that came out in March from Kantar Media, which found that 74 percent of physicians use smartphones for professional reasons, and 38 percent use both a smartphone and tablet for professional purposes.

In light of the dramatic discrepancies, Harry Greenspun, MD, a senior advisor at the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, advises that observers not get “fixated on differences in numbers.” Greenspun added that Deloitte is “very careful” in how it builds its survey and seeks to obtain a representative sample of U.S. physicians, balancing different types of physicians.

He recommends focusing on the key technology trends, like the "digital divide" between doctors who are enthusiastic and early technology adopters and those who aren't budging.

The divide between the tech zealots and the tech curmudgeons, will become more apparent over time..

“There's still a good chunk of doctors who are hoping that this whole thing just goes away," Greenspun concluded. "There'll be a real push to bring them back into the fold, and a lot of that will be driven by consumer demand."