Two-thirds of Physicians Use a Smartphone

Two out of three U.S. physicians use a smartphone according to an April 2010 report published by the California HealthCare Foundation. Manhattan Research forecasts that this trend among physicians will spike from 64 percent in 2009 to 81 percent in 2012.

Agile. Easy-to-use. Fast. Fun. Hand-held. Low-cost. Mobile. All stellar attributes of an on-the-go device revolutionizing how physicians practice medicine. Tap. Tap. Tap. Now at the point-of-care, doctors can access medical digital libraries, receive a patient’s lab results, confirm drug dosages, obtain CME credit, boost productivity and save time.

Medical schools are breeding a new generation of M.D.s. Georgetown, Ohio State University, and the University of Louisville require medical students to use a smartphone. These digital natives will reach for their smartphones before their stethoscopes.

Today two ecosystems, health and technology, are intersecting at a clip rate that will transform how doctors care for patients. We can expect that what is in store will make our pulse race.