26% of European doctors use iPads in the office

In the fourth quarter of 2011, Manhattan Research polled 1,207 doctors in the U.K., Germany, France, Spain and Italy in an attempt to better understand physicians’ use of internet-capable devices. The study found that, in total, approximately 26 percent of European physicians own Apple’s tablet. What’s more, according to analyst Christina Anthogalidis,

““We discovered that iPad-owning physicians spend an impressive 27 per cent of their professional online time on the device, likely replacing desktop time and probably some offline media time too. Use of these devices at the point-of-care to educate patients and manage records is also promising at this stage.”

Doctors primarily use the iPad for things like online referencing, reading online medical journals and watching videos, but more and more doctors are also beginning to see the benefits of the iPad when it comes to educating patients. Furthermore, with pharmaceutical giants including AstraZeneca, Janssen and Vertex putting out professional-grade medical applications, the iPad’s functionality in a medical setting will only grow.

In fact, an impressive 40% of the doctors polled who did not own an iPad reported that  they expected to buy one within six months.

Stories like this are very exciting because they exemplify just how versatile the iPad and tablets in general can be. It’s great to see this tech being used for something other than Angry Birds!

Earlier this week I questioned whether the iPad was a viable option for professionals, but this information certainly proves that it is. What do you guys think about this? Would it reassure you to walk into a doctor’s office and see him rockin’ an iPad instead of a clipboard? Comment below or tweet me here!

Via: AppleInsider