The European Doctor is Online
Survey Finds a Majority of Physicians in the Top Five EU Countries Like Internet Surveys
Miami, March 6, 2007
Online marketing research of physicians is due to continue its fast expansion throughout Europe. According to Medimix International (www.medimix.net), the global healthcare marketing research company, 65% of physicians surveyed in the top five EU countries say they anticipate responding to “more” or “many more” online surveys in the future, as opposed to only 34% anticipating increasing response to classic marketing research studies.
Medimix is the winner of the EphMRA Foundation project “internet access amongst European Physicians” for which it conducted a two part European survey of 500 doctors by phone and 700 doctors online to find out how many of them are using the internet, when and where they are going online, what their online activities are, and the extent to which physicians participate in online surveys in comparison to other types of surveys.
Physicians were surveyed in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. In the first part conducted by telephone, Medimix found that across all five countries, 93% of physicians claim internet connectivity, of which 88% are connected via broadband. Contrary to popular perception, Spain professes the highest internet penetration, at a whopping 98%, and Germany is the last of the pack with only 91%. Of the three countries with lowest penetration, Germany, France and Italy, only 9% of doctors say they do not use the Internet for personal and/or professional reasons.
Ninety-three percent of the European physicians surveyed online are accessing the Internet from their homes. Office or clinic access is lower at 70%, with the British accessing the most from the office and the Italians the least. Over two-thirds answered that they connect on work days but outside of working hours, with the majority connecting between 8 and 11 pm. Slow connections limit usage of the Internet at 20% across the board, with 28% of Spanish doctors citing this problem.
In fact, when asked where they search first for “specific professional information”, 62% of all doctors surveyed said they turn first to the Internet. This number jumps to 72% of UK physicians. British doctors are also communicating online with colleagues more than their counterparts in the other four major European countries, with 23% stating they use the Internet to email and chat.
Although only about one-third of European physicians are currently participating in online surveys, over two-thirds have a very positive attitude towards online marketing research. Fifty-one percent of German doctors, for example, say they are “very much” willing to respond to online market research surveys, and 57% of French doctors say they are “somewhat” willing to participate in online surveys. Currently, German physicians respond more often to online surveys than any other country.
Finally, 76% of physicians using the Internet declare that “better payment for less time spent online” would be the number one influencing factor to participate in online studies. However, physicians in Spain (72%) and Germany (71%) also mention “ease of access to Internet” as an important factor.
This survey is reserved to EphMRA members. To become an EphMRA member, please visit www.ephmra.org. For insights on how physicians worldwide use the internet, please contact Medimix at vjijon@medimix.net.
About Medimix International
Medimix International is a dynamic provider of advanced marketing research solutions for the healthcare industry worldwide. Medimix’s proprietary panel provides direct access to over 500,000 physicians and healthcare professionals from around the world, making it one of the largest panels in the industry. Medimix specializes in global research. Learn more at www.medimix.net.
