Survey shows: Medical apps are becoming increasingly important for doctors in Europe
21.02.2023 12:30
The relevance of medical apps is constantly increasing for doctors in Europe: 67 percent use the app to find out about the latest findings in their field. In 2020 it was 57 percent. After specialist magazines (69 percent), the apps are the second most important source of information in the daily practice of doctors. This was the result of the Digital Doctor Survey commissioned by the digital health company Mediately among 6,800 European doctors from nine countries, including Germany, Italy and Slovenia.
In Germany, specialist media and textbooks have significantly more influence than in their European neighbors: almost three quarters of the German respondents cite specialist magazines as the most important source of information. 62 percent of German doctors prefer textbooks. Medical apps like Mediately are relevant in their daily practice for more than half (59 percent). The Digital Doctor Survey is one of the largest surveys of its kind in Europe and was carried out for the third time in 2022 - for the first time among German doctors.
“Doctors value independent and digital sources of information, as the results of the Digital Doctor Survey clearly show. Digital offerings in particular will play an increasingly important role in everyday practice. We are also seeing this change at Mediately: in the last two months, doctors have used the app more than 4.5 million, setting a new record,” says Blaž Triglav, CEO of Mediately. Mediately provides doctors with complex drug information and medical guidelines in a simple format and supports them in making decisions with digital tools.
The biggest advantage of digitalization: easier access to medical knowledge
Almost two thirds of European doctors say that their attitude to digitalization has improved as a result of the corona pandemic. The majority of those surveyed (93 percent) see the greatest advantage of digitalization in easier access to medical training and information. Communication with colleagues (34 percent) and interaction with patients (27 percent) follow at a distance. German doctors are a little more reserved: Based on the experience of the past three years, only about half are more optimistic when it comes to digital topics.
95 percent demand digital guidelines
Medical guidelines are used regularly in everyday practice: 81 percent of European doctors use up to five guidelines per week and base diagnosis and therapy accordingly. 14 percent of those surveyed even use up to ten different guidelines in their everyday practice. Doctors are very open to the digital use of guidelines: a total of 95 percent of those surveyed would use them in this form. In Germany the value is 98 percent.
Desire for digital communication with pharmaceutical representatives
In the survey, Mediately also asked participants about interactions with pharmaceutical representatives. The result: you feel understood. Almost two thirds of European doctors say that pharmaceutical representatives know what information they really need as doctors.
Digital communication with representatives is very popular with those surveyed. When asked how, almost half of doctors (44 percent) said they wanted digital content that was tailored to their individual needs and interests. A third prefer a combination of events, on-site visits and tailored digital content.
“The results of the Digital Doctor Survey 2022 clearly show that digitally available information is irreplaceable for doctors in everyday practice. Pharmaceutical companies should use this to support doctors across Europe in their work more effectively - with personalized information tailored to the issues of those treating them. This benefits not only doctors, but also patients,” says Blaž Triglav, CEO of Mediately.
About the survey
For the Digital Doctor Survey, the Slovenian company Mediately surveyed 6,800 doctors online from September to December 2022 about their use of medical guidelines, digitalization and their attitude towards pharmaceutical companies. It is one of the largest surveys of its kind in Europe and has been carried out in this form for the third time. In addition to doctors from Bulgaria, Italy, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, 75 German doctors took part in the Digital Doctor Survey for the first time in 2022. You can find the results of the survey here: International Report<24903196.fs1.hubspotusercontent-eu1.net/hubfs/24903196/Digital%20Doctor%202022%20reports/Digital%20Doctor%202022%20-%20international%20report.pdf> and German Report.<24903196.fs1.hubspotusercontent-eu1.net/hubfs/24903196/Digital%20Doctor%202022%20reports/Digital%20Doctor%202022%20-%20Report%20Germany%20-%20GERMAN.pdf>