It's no secret that pharmaceutical companies have long been enamoured with Apple's iPad, but the industry's passion looks to have hit new heights of late.

The number of US doctors who reported seeing an iPad-wielding pharma sales rep doubled over the last year, according to a new survey by Manhattan Research.

The healthcare market research and advisory firm sales questioned over 1,800 US doctors for its ePharma Physician 2012 study and found 65 per cent had seen an iPad rep, up from 30 per cent in 2011.

Manhattan said it had also found evidence that reps with iPads were influencing doctors' behaviour.

“We're seeing more positive signs this year that the use of iPads by reps is driving the desired engagement and behaviour among physicians,” said Monique Levy, Vice President of Research at Manhattan Research. “We're also getting more clarity on the kinds of features and content physicians want on these devices, such as demos of apps they can download and KOL videos.”

Manhattan says its 'ePharma Physicians' are drawn from the 95 per cent of US practicing physicians who already interact with pharma through digital channels. 89 per cent of ePharma Physicians have seen a pharma sales rep in person in the past 6 months.

The ePharma Physician 2012 survey was carried out online during the second quarter of this year and involved over 1,800 US physicians using digital channels for pharma resources.

There's more on tablet computers as pharma detail aids elsewhere on PMLiVE and our Digital Handbook has a handy overview of pharma and the iPad.

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