We're going mobile!

In the very near future the majority of promotional healthcare communications will be received by medical and health professionals on mobile devices; more specifically smartphones like Blackberries and iPhones. Currently more than 234 million Americans are mobile subscribers, of which 42 million carry smartphones. This number is expected to double in 24 months. Medical professionals are proving to be the early adopters with 64% of US physicians already carrying smartphones, as do 99% of residents.

The adoption of smartphones by the medical community (and those marketing to them) is fueled by the rapid integration of these devices into modern medicine. Believe it or not, there are already 7,000 health-related applications for smartphones and 1,700 of them are specifically designed for medical professionals.

Now try this on for size: Nike is already designing clothing to monitor physical activity and measure vital statistics. They have a shoe chip that helps calculate number of steps and calories, while a shirt with a heart monitor is currently in development. Each of these technological advancements was designed to connect to a smartphone for viewing, storing, and disseminating the data collected.

So what does that mean for the healthcare communications professional? It means everything we do must be compatible for the mobile world. Now there’s another significant channel to consider when evaluating the “campaignability” of a brand’s look and feel and messaging. It all has to be designed for consumption while waiting for a cup of coffee or sandwiched in between an IM to a friend and an e-mail from a peer. It is in your best interest to assure that all digital assets—Web sites, e-mail campaigns, online advertising, and online educational programs—be reworked or optimized for mobile devices if they were not created with a mobile option. Tell your agency you’re ready to go mobile now!

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