Docs Love Their Smart Phones

Medical professionals are jumping on the smart phone bandwagon, making "there's an app for that" even more relevant in day-to-day patient care.

According to the blog Medical Smartphones, 94 percent of physicians surveyed by Spyglass Consulting reported that they used smart phones. Forty-four percent owned iPhones, and 25 percent said BlackBerry was their device of choice.

While the study's sample size was quite small--based on around 100 physician interviews--it presents an interesting trend. And you have to wonder what's behind the rapid smart phone adoption in the medical community. The report gave communication, improved workflow and access to information as primary drivers, according to the blog post. The latter certainly makes sense given the rapid growth of the app market, as docs can even access the Physician's Desk Reference, a sort of bible of prescription drugs, on their iPhones or BlackBerrys. After all, one look at the print version is enough to make you run to your nearest wireless provider.