The Internet has played a key role in changing the patient-physician relationship. Time constrains and productivity pressures are driving physicians to the Internet to keep abreast of medical knowledge. At the same time, physicians are becoming accustomed to the role of patients as consumers. Physician behavior is changing in response to this consumerism trend in healthcare.

Highlights

A changing environment impacts relationships among patients, physicians and pharmaceutical companies, and forces all players to be involved in creating health networks that form strong healthcare brands.Physicians are increasingly sophisticated in the ways they use the Internet to practice medicine. They have shifted their online activities and are looking for more sophisticated offerings online, such as online CME courses and conferences and will continue to add online services to their physician practices, such as ePrescribing and eSampling.Physicians' behavior towards patients is also changing - they are becoming more receptive and accustomed to patient requests such as inquiring about specific drugs following information they have read online through disease or product websites, or online ads. Physicians are in need of online tools to respond to this heightened role of consumers.

Scope

Provides insight into physicians' perceptions of the role of the Internet in delivering patient care
Presents an analysis of physicians' views of patients' demands for access to medical information and online services
Explores potential opportunity areas based on physicians' willingness to respond to patients' demands for online services
Discusses obstacles that physicians face in adopting online tools to deliver better patient care

Reasons to Purchase

Determine the current and prospective opportunities in online tools, such as eSampling, as a marketing channel to reach selected physician audiences
Understand current adoption trends in mobile technologies and online services among physicians in key geographic markets in the US, Europe and Japan
Recognize areas of unmet need and obstacles physicians face in adopting specific key online tools and services

Action Points
Outline of the brief
Two key things you need to know about the changing patient-physician relationship
Physicians are increasingly sophisticated in the ways they use the Internet to practice medicine
Physicians are accustomed to patients inquiring about specific drugs and are in need of online tools to respond to this heightened role of consumers
Overview
A changing environment impacts relationships among patients, physicians and pharmaceutical companies and forces all players to be involved in creating health networks that form strong healthcare brands
Physicians' perception of the Internet's role in delivering patient care
The Internet is an important tool and an integral part of physicians' practices across all the major geographic markets in the US, Europe and Japan
Physicians' use of the Internet is changing as they use online information in more sophisticated ways
The majority of surveyed physicians expect to adopt ePrescribing within the next 6 years
46% of surveyed physicians would like eSampling to complement traditional sample packets
Mobile technologies are likely to impact the way physicians perform several activities related to patient care
Although use of mobile technologies, such as tablet PCs and PDAs, is currently low among surveyed physicians
mobile technologies are gaining traction and have the potential to change the way physicians deliver patient care
Mobile solutions still suffer from a number technical factors that inhibit their adoption
Physicians' perceptions of patient demand for online services
Physicians recognize that the Internet is driving patients to inquire about specific medications
With limits on direct-to-consumer advertising in the EU, other methods of advertising, such as disease websites, play a stronger role in those countries
According to physicians, services that are most in demand by patients include email communication with physician and online prescription refill requests
Physicians are in need of tools that will help them respond to patient demand for disease or treatment information
Physicians' response to patient demand for online services
Top 5 online services in demand by patients according to physicians, across the major geographic markets
Physicians need tools to help them implement services to meet their patients' demands
Patients' information requirements drive physicians to provide the necessary services or recommend specific information sources
More than 50% of surveyed physicians would like to provide their patients with disease management or compliance tools
The Future Decoded
Physicians are increasingly sophisticated in the ways they use the Internet to practice medicine
Physicians' behavior towards patients is changing: Physicians are becoming more receptive and accustomed to patients requests
Physicians are accustomed to patients inquiring about specific drugs and are in need of online tools to respond to this heightened role of consumers
Appendix
List Of Figures
- Research methodology
- References
- Future readings
- SPP writing team

Pharmaceutical Market Research

The Changing Patient-Physician Relationship Part 2