Healthcare Key Findings January/February 2012

Healthcare Industry Statistics – Mobile Device Use

According to a new report by CompTIA, more than 50% of physicians use a smartphone for work purposes. With the availability of user-friendly and cost-effective technology on the rise, mobile device use by health care providers is growing rapidly.
Other significant findings from the study include:

• 25% of health care providers surveyed use tablets at their practice, while another 21% expect to do so in the next 12 months.
• 38% of physicians with smartphones use medical apps on a daily basis, with that number increasing to 50% in the next 12 months.
• Two-thirds said implementing or improving their use of mobile technologies is a high or mid-level priority in the next 12 months.
• Almost one-third of providers use their smartphones or tablets to access EMR/EHR systems, with 20% expecting to start within the next year.
• Some 38% of healthcare providers said they have a comprehensive EMR system in place and 17% have a partial system or module.
• Only 14% of healthcare professionals actively follow news and trends in telemedicine, while 37% expressed little interest in the topic.
• Telemedicine offers the greatest benefits for continuing medical education (61%), specialist referral services (44%) and patient consultations (37%).
• 10% intend to use video conferencing with patients in the next 12 months.

Black Dieters do it for Health, Not Weight Loss

A recent study by Mintel shows that black adults who diet are more likely to do it for general health reasons (70%) than to prevent or control high blood pressure (52%), or maintain their current weight (46%). Some 49% who watch what they eat have a hard time staying with diets, and 42% say most diets don’t work.

Black dieters have problems finding healthy options at restaurants (35%), hunger pangs (26%) and being “bored” by the food on their diet (26%). Some 60% report that they would prefer to eat healthy foods more frequently, but say the cost is prohibitive.

Source: Mintel.com

Health Care Branding Trend: Marketing to Men

Since men accounted for over 75% of jobs lost during the recession (6 million vs. women’s 2.6 million), more and more of them are at home – taking care of the household and children. And, they are okay with this as shown by recent studies which found that 77% of men are contented with their wives out-earning them and 75% saying they are fine staying home to take care of children.

The number of single fathers has reached 2.5 million, reflecting a 30% increase in the past 15 years. Another trend is that Gen X and millennial men are more likely than men of prior generations to take an active role in parenting and household duties.

While women still make 83% of household purchases, ignoring male health care customers can be detrimental to a long-view branding strategy.

Sources: GoJunto.com | LegatoBlog.com

Bullets

• One-quarter of teens (23%) have tripped or fallen while sending or receiving text messages.
• Three-quarters of American adults say exercise is somewhat (42%) or very (33%) important in their daily lives.
• A 2011 study showed that 26% of U.S. adults accessed health information or tools on their mobile devices within the last year.

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Healthcare Industry Statistics