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ON24, MedData Group Study Reveals Physician Digital Behavior

April 17th, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – April 17, 2012 – ON24, Inc., the global leader in webcasting and virtual events, and MedData Group, a leading provider of interactive content and database marketing services to the professional healthcare community, today announced the findings of their April 2012 Joint Survey of Physician Digital Behavior.

In a survey of 971 physician participants across a variety of specialties, the study found that the overwhelming majority of doctors (84.1%) would prefer to attend continuing medical education (CME) training online, followed by:

  • Pharmaceutical Education – 31.6%
  • Dinner Meetings – 29.4%
  • Medical Device Training – 27.1%

However, only 6.4% say they actually participate in virtual training or any type of virtual event very often. But that’s set to change.

When asked what trends they see with respect to virtual events and webcasts, 75.5% of doctors say they are increasing in number, and nearly all doctors (96.1%) say they see benefits to being able to attend more conferences, meetings and CME events virtually. These benefits include:

  • Viewing “on-demand” content at my convenience– 80.3%
  • Avoiding the hassles of travel to places I’d rather not visit – 53.3%
  • Spending more time at home, relaxing or having fun – 45.1%
  • Better overall patient care – 35.1%

While medical professionals agree that impressive credentials and subject matter expertise are important characteristics in a virtual event presenter, more than 61% say they also want presenters to have a non-nasally, clear voice. Additionally, they placed a premium on openness to differing viewpoints (52.9%); funny, entertaining presentations (41.8%); and a fast-paced delivery (36.1%).

“We’re looking at a significant change in how doctors say they use and want to use virtual technology,” said Bill Reinstein, President and CEO of MedData Group, “and the results of the survey point to wider adoption and more meaningful use of online training anytime, anywhere.”

In fact, doctors are more mobile than ever before. Three quarters of physicians (74.3%) said they either have or plan to buy an iPad in the next six months.

“These results demonstrate that virtual communication is becoming very important to the way doctors prefer to work,” said Sharat Sharan, Chief Executive Officer of ON24. “In today’s digital age, medical professionals increasingly prefer virtual events and webcasts wherever they are – at their desks, on their laptops or with any mobile device – over traveling to in-person events.”

About ON24, Inc.

ON24, the virtual communications platform for the global enterprise, provides interactive, impactful cloud-based solutions that drive outstanding results. ON24 offers a broad and innovative product portfolio, including webcasting, virtual events and virtual environments, accessible from any device and supported by robust reporting and analytics. Applications for the ON24 communication platform include demand generation, partner enablement, training, product launches, company town hall meetings and user conferences. More than 700 organizations, including IBM, CA Technologies, Merck, Unilever, JPMorgan Chase, Deloitte, Credit Suisse, Amazon and New York Life, rely on ON24. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices throughout the world. For more information, visit https://www.ON24.com.

About MedData Group

MedData Group is a leading provider of interactive content and database marketing services to the professional healthcare community. Our mission is to identify under-serviced information needs and develop high-value content services that can aid physicians and a wide range of the professional healthcare ecosystem in their research and decision making. In the process, we create multiple, valuable opportunities for healthcare vendors, medical education companies and others to reach and engage with this audience of influential professionals. Our HealthcarePro database provides highly targeted email marketing opportunities on a unique cost-per-acquisition basis and is perfect for promotion of CME, eDetails, product launches, dinner meetings and much more. For more information please visit us at https://www.meddatagroup.com.