With some 20,000 U.S. clinical trials currently in the process of recruiting patients, it’s not surprising that physicians are often faced with a deluge of information about new procedures, treatments and products.
A Doximity report found that most doctors — 95% — want to learn about these additions to the medical armamentarium. But they’re inundated by the sheer amount of information: Nearly 70% of respondents reported feeling overwhelmed.
“These findings suggest that even though physicians may feel a strong desire or commitment to help improve patient outcomes, the demands of life-long learning can overwhelm an already stretched physician workforce,” said Doximity SVP of strategy Amit Phull.
The report delves into the ways doctors receive information and attempts to discern why they’re burned out by it. It offers pharma marketers a number of ways to cut through the clutter and aid HCPs wanting more education and information.
Physicians tend to limit their content consumption during the average workday to 30 minutes or under, suggesting that short, impactful messages may be most effective in reaching them. Overall, respondents were eight times more likely to rate short videos as efficient than long ones. Similarly, they were more likely to consider short-form articles more efficient than long ones.
SInce 65% of doctors report that they don’t have enough time in their work schedules to read about new trials and research, they usually catch up during their time off: 45% said they often reviewed medical news on their days off.
It doesn’t help that much of the content directed their way isn’t relevant. Fifty percent of physicians reported that they felt frustrated with irrelevant content, while more than 60% said they would be interested in information more specific to their geographic location (such as local clinical sites or educational events).
The Doximity report also explored doctors’ channel preferences. Many (63%) prefer to receive information straight from other doctors on platforms designed for physicians, while 63% pointed to the ongoing appeal of professional webinars or conferences. Less popular channels included public social media platforms.
Of all the specialties surveyed, which included oncology, endocrinology, neurology, cardiology and gastroenterology, oncologists were most likely to feel overwhelmed by the volume of information they receive.
Phull stressed that medical marketers need to recognize just how busy physicians are, and tailor their pitches accordingly.
“They should prioritize brevity and specificity to help highlight important information and eliminate the noise as well as look for ways to empower physicians to learn on the go, including tactfully between patient visits,” he explained.
Phull added that pharma marketers could simply aim to empower physicians to spend more time caring for their patients.
“It’s important to better understand physicians’ clinical workflows and personalize content and engagement in a way that enables them to be more productive and achieve greater control over their own schedules,” he said.
