Physicians’ Growing Use Of The Internet: Where Trust And Value Drive Information Search

...This is the fifth and final post of my thinking about physicians seeking health information in the context of current health care dynamics and prospects for health reform on behalf of Elsevier and their launch of the ClinicalKey Experience tour. Elsevier took the proverbial show on the road to over 40 medical schools and teaching hospitals around the U.S. On the journey, C-suite hospital executives, medical librarians, physicians, nurses and residents got to experience ClinicalKey first-hand and search on topics they’re looked for via Google and other proprietary search portals.

I asked Mike LaMartina, ClinicalKey brand ambassador, who went on the road with the ClinicalKey mobile tour about his takeaways from the experience. “It didn’t matter which city we visited: while all hospitals are unique and different, there is one constant: everyone was happy to have us there, whether medical librarian, med student or physician. Everyone grabbed hold of the ClinicalKey concept. We didn’t travel cross-country to sell a product, but to demonstrate the benefits of it,” Mike said.

By going directly to the medical campuses, Elsevier was able to develop a trust between the staff and ClinicalKey. This was much more effective than a quick sales pitch at a large conference when users might take a minute or two to glance a brochure, or get a sales pitch. On average, hospital staff, whether physician or medical librarian, spent 7 to 10 minutes with hands-on the ClinicalKey software, conducting the types of searches they do in their daily work lives. What these users and prospects found was a quick on-ramp to finding high quality, current clinical information...