4 out of 5 U.S. Physicians Online Visited Health Care Professional Sites in Q1 2010

*Medscape.com Ranks as Most-Visited Health-Related Destination by Physicians, Reaching More than Half of Doctors Online*  

*comScore Releases First in a Series of Reports on Physicians’ Online Behaviors from its comScore/ImpactRx Physician Behavioral Measurement™ Solution*

Reston, VA and Mt. Laurel, NJ, August 26, 2010- comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, and ImpactRx, a pharmaceutical insights company, today released the first in a series of reports from the comScore/ImpactRx Physician Behavioral Measurement™ solution, a unique digital measurement solution that measures physicians’ actual online and mobile behaviors. The report found that 81 percent of physicians online visited Health Care Professional (HCP) content sites in Q1 2010, leading as the most-visited health-related content category among physicians. HCP sites also captured 48 percent of physicians’ overall time spent on health-related sites, the largest share of any category.  

“Physicians are increasingly turning to digital media as a source of health-related information to supplement their practice,” said John Mangano, comScore vice president of pharmaceutical marketing solutions. “The ability to understand physicians’ actual online behavior rather than relying on recall-based surveys provides a more accurate view of how physicians’ utilize the Internet as a health information resource. By understanding which health-related destinations are frequented by physicians, brand marketers and advertisers can effectively reach and engage this influential audience segment.” 

HCP Sites Account for Half of Physicians’ Time Spent on Health Content 

In Q1 2010, 81 percent of physicians online visited HCP content destinations, making it the highest reaching health-related sub-category among physicians. General Health Content, including sites such as WebMD.com and About.com Health, reached 75 percent of physicians, with Association sites reaching 67 percent. Pharma Support and Pharmaceuticals both reached half of physicians (51 percent and 50 percent, respectively).

When looking at engagement, HCP content accounted for the largest share of physicians’ time spent on health sites at 48 percent and captured the largest share of visits to health content at 33 percent. Strong engagement also occurred at Pharma Support sites (8 percent share of total minutes, 11 percent share of visits), Clinic sites (11 percent share of minutes, 6 percent share of visits) and Association sites (7 percent share of minutes, 8 percent share of visits). 

Percent Reach of Health Categories Among Physicians
Q1 2010
Total U.S. Home/Work/University Locations
Source: comScore, Inc.
Health Category % Reach of Physicians Online Share of Minutes at Health Categories Share of Visits at Health Categories
HCP Content 81% 48% 33%
General Health Content 75% 2% 10%
Association 67% 7% 8%
Pharma Support 51% 8% 11%
Pharmaceuticals 50% 2% 3%
Government 48% 2% 4%
Health & Wellness 40% 2% 4%
Social Media 40% 6% 6%
Insurance 38% 5% 7%
Physician Locator 35% 1% 2%
Clinic 31% 11% 6%
Medical Journal 30% 1% 2%
Pharmacy Services 22% 6% 4%

Medscape.com Leads as Most-Visited Health Site by Physicians 

An analysis of the top health sites visited by physicians revealed that Medscape.com was the most-visited HCP site and the most-visited overall health site during the first quarter, reaching 57 percent of physicians. WebMD.com ranked as the top General Health Content site for physicians reaching 20.5 percent, while NIH.gov led as the most-visited government site reaching 30.5 percent. In the Pharmaceuticals category, Wyeth.com (now part of Pfizer) led with 6.3 percent of physicians visiting the destination, while DoctorDirectory.com led as the top Pharma Support site reaching 22 percent. 

Percent Reach of Top Sites in Each Health Category Among Physicians
Q1 2010
Total U.S. Home/Work/University Locations
Source: comScore, Inc.
  Top Site per Category by Percent Reach % Reach of Physicians Online
HCP Content Medscape.com 57.0%
General Health Content WebMD.com 20.5%
Association AAFP.org 17.0%
Pharma Support DoctorDirectory.com 22.0%
Pharmaceuticals Wyeth.com (now part of Pfizer) 6.3%
Government NIH.gov 30.5%
Health & Wellness Thatsfit.com 8.3%
Social Media SERMO.com 21.3%
Insurance Ucomparehealthcare.com 11.3%
Physician Locator Healthgrades.com 26.0%
Clinic Clinicaloptions.com 3.5%
Medical Journal NEJM.org 13.0%
Pharmacy Services Allscripts.com 3.5%

About ImpactRx

Founded in October 2000, ImpactRx’s physician networks are the source of an unprecedented intelligence capability for tracking the promotional initiatives of the pharmaceutical industry and for measuring their impact on physician prescribing behavior. Based in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, ImpactRx is a private company with investment financing provided by Mediphase Venture Partners, Oxford Bioscience Partners, Merck Capital Ventures and Omega Funds. For more information, please visit: https://www.impactrx.com/  

About comScore Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Solutions

comScore Pharmaceutical Solutions delivers in-depth information needed to understand the impact that brand, condition-specific, and health Web sites have on consumers’ brand awareness, conversion, and patient compliance as well as insights into health care professionals’ online usage. comScore’s products deliver actionable insight to help refine consumer profiles, identify key alliances, optimize interactive marketing initiatives, benchmark against the competition and accurately measure the ROI of Web site and online marketing programs. For more information, please visit: https://www.comscore.com/Industry_Solutions/Pharmaceutical 

About comScore

comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo 

*Source: comScore

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