Trying to drive physician engagement online? Wondering what the hooks are to get healthcare professionals motivated and communicating? So were we. In Q2 2011, UBM Medica US surveyed US-based medical professionals on their use of social media, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace and blogging.

The findings: What really drives them wild is peer-to-peer interaction.

Seventy-two percent of our US respondents use social media for personal and professional purposes.

Continue reading for a summary of our findings or download the HCPs & Social Media report (PDF).

Executive Summary:

The mean respondent age is 51 years old.

• 72% of HCPs engage in social media, either for personal purposes (29%), professional (6%), or both (37%).
   
• For HCPs who do not use social media, it is mostly because they have concerns about privacy (72%).
   
• HCPs who do engage with social media primarily use a computer to do so. The iPhone and iPad are the next devices of choice, followed by the Droid and Blackberry.
   
• Security is a key influencing factor in their decision to even join a social network, rating 4.35 out of 5 (5 being most important). Of those who use social media, their time is split 70/30 for personal vs. professional use.
   
• When looking at the useage of social media, inclusive of professional community sites, Facebook remains a powerhouse among physicians (86%) followed by Medscape Physician Connect (52%) and Sermo (44%).
   
• When using online professional communities, the most popular activities among physicians are following what colleagues are shaing and discusssing (60%) and CME (59%).

Continue to the next page to read the rest of our July 2011 Insights report, or download the HCPs & Social Media report here (PDF).