One in five physicians interested in iPad

About the Author

Richard Meyer is a passionate Internet DTC marketer with over 15 years of progressive experience in consumer marketing who`s worked on top pharmaceutical brands like Cialis, Prozac and Sarafem, as well as two years with Medtronic Diabetes. He is currently consulting for his own company, Online Strategic Solutions, and writes a DTC column for PM 360 magazine and blogs for Eye for Pharma in addition to his own blog, World of DTC Marketing.

This week, Epocrates Inc., the developer of mobile applications used by more than 900,000 healthcare professionals worldwide, revealed a new study of more than 350 clinicians conducted in the wake of Apple’s iPad announcement. Among those surveyed, 9% said they plan to buy an iPad when it is immediately available, and another 13% intend to purchase one in the first year. A lot of people are asking if the iPad is truly the future of DTC marketing and health. Here are some things to remember.

The iPad is a completely new category for the industry and consumers. Adaption will not be driven by the hardware but by software and the services they deliver. Nowhere is this more true than with the medical industry.

Apple has taken cost of the iPad by using its own chip rather than purchasing one by makers like Intel. While the entry level price is $499 very few people believe that most of the sales are going to be the entry level model as consumers opt for wifi and 3G models. By the far the biggest drawback of the iPad is that it can’t use FLASH. There has been sort of a backlash agains FLASH by some industry leaders such as Google and Apple. There is a movement to eliminate FLASH from the Web using new HTML technology but it is years from becoming widely adapted.

We know that more physicians are using the Internet and that 1 in 3 has changed a diagnosis or treatment thanks to information they found on the Internet but what will really drive physician adaption of the iPad is software that integrates patient records, medical information, payers, pharmacies and patients. The other key component I believe that will make this a winner for physicians is use of a stylus. Right now entering text to the iPad requires use of a somewhat clumsy keyboard and I can’t see a physician writing an Rx with one finger while he holds the iPad with the other hand.

The key question is going to be what software company is going to offer a full enterprise version of software that encompasses the needs of physicians and other HCP’s and what type of tablet will it work on? Google has already shown it’s tablet which is heavily integrated with Google applications. Apple believes that app stores, like iBook, are going to drive sales of the tablet and that is sure true when it comes to consumers but for business professionals it’s about “integration” and for HCP’s it’s about integration and reduction in paperwork which by some estimates takes up to 30% of their time.

Finally the other major drawback of the tablet is that it can’t multitask yet. This may seem like a minor issue but let’s say that a HCP wants to monitor an ongoing chat with colleagues while surfing the Internet and trying to send information to a patient. At the high end price point of $829 that is a big feature that’s missing !

Like any new technology and category the iPad will be used by early adapters and the belief is that Apple will sell around 2 million units. For the HCP and medical marketing people though penetration drives new software but software drives penetration. As vendors start developing software for the iPad and Tablet computers there will of course be winners and losers but the one with the vision and the ability to use good marketing and research to give the market what it needs and wants will be the winner.