Medical website design professionals have seen the sign of significant changes in website design and content. This is the time to adapt or be lost to the fast moving wave of mobile technology.
The current smartphone age began several years ago when Apple launched the iPhone and changed the way in which consumers perceived the possibilities available to them via their mobile handsets. By opening up the platform to third party developers and presenting software firms, it was possible for the mobile phone to have utility and be fun, too. While medical professionals leverage mobile phone technology in the workplace, their children use smartphones for gaming and socialising, as well as keeping in contact. The question for medical professionals is how mobile friendly is your medical website design?
There have been varying surveys published concerning the usage of smartphones by medical professionals. In 2010 the Spyglass Consulting Group published a study which implied 94 per cent of physicians have taken advantage of smartphones. However, this included using them for simple communication as well as viewing medical information or managing their business and personal lives, which may be a little broad of a definition from which it is possible to draw any definitive conclusions.
The trend for adopting smartphones in clinics and doctor’s office is more prevalent for the younger generation of physicians. Recent medical school graduates are more likely to use digital technology during their working hours than those who are coming to the end of their careers. Studies show that physicians working in emergency rooms are the most frequent smartphone users.
It is clear that as the next wave of medical professionals enters the job market there will be a far larger proportion of doctors taking advantage of smartphone functionality when practicing health care. This means that any company which is in the business of supplying medical information or services will need to prepare for this change.
Medical website design for desktop platforms is quite different from the kind of process a medical website designer will need to go through when creating a smartphone-friendly service. A medical website design needs to take into account the fact that while a desktop user will have a large display combined with a keyboard and a mouse for interaction with the content, a mobile user will not have any of these things.
Modern smartphones can have an array of different interfaces, but in general you will be best placed to create your medical website design so that it is accessible to all users. Your medical website designer should be focusing on building mobile friendly website that are easily accessed by patients, doctors and suppliers using touch screen handsets. With the growth of the tablet market in the last two years, you will also need to consider the number of doctors who may well be viewing your site from an iPad or Android tablet device.