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iPhones: One-Third Of Doctors Might Buy iPhone 6 By Thanksgiving. Why Do They Love Apple So Much?

This article is more than 9 years old.

Apple's iPhone 6, which went on pre-order at 12:01 a.m. PST on Friday, is big. It's bulky. It's loaded with new health and fitness apps.

And that might make it perfect for doctors -- who are notorious Apple iPhone fans to begin with.

"Doctors love their iPhones," says Dr. Nate Gross, the co-founder of Doximity. (Doximity's essentially a LinkedIn for doctors.) "We've seen them take screenshots of their favorite iPhone apps, like medical calculators, to share and compare."

And the iPhone 6, with its activity sensors and fitness features, should only "inspire and excite" doctors even more, Gross adds.

Also See: Apple and Mayo Clinic’s Partnership Could Be Smart Medicine

Doximity currently reaches more than 300,000 doctors, and Gross says the user base is fairly representative of all U.S. doctors. (Doximity users have a median age of 45, which skews slightly younger than the national average of about 50 years old.)

"We've seen roughly 85% of physicians using an iPhone," Gross says. Whether an older doctor or newer to the field, male or female, "the iPhone has become the great equalizer."

Gross and Jake Konoske, who leads Doximity's mobile products, shared several slices of data about iPhone adoption trends among Doximity members.

For example, this is how Doximity's iPhone user base looked ahead of the launch of the iPhone 5 two years ago:

(Does the graphic look small? Click to expand.)

But within six weeks of the iPhone 5's launch, it had already surpassed the iPhone 4 to become the most popular Apple device among Doximity physicians.

According to Doxmity's calculations, that iPhone 5 adoption rate was four times faster than the general population.

(Does the graphic look small? Click to expand.)

Doximity expects a similar adoption curve with the iPhone 6, predicting that about 35% of its physician users would adopt the iPhone 6 within the first six weeks of launch.

The company's data suggests that iPhone usage among physicians is somewhat fragmented. About two-thirds of Doximity's iPhone users currently use the iPhone 5 or iPhone 5c, while another 20% of Doximity members use the iPhone 4s.

In some ways, a story about doctors' love for Apple is a simple story about physicians' spending power and professional demands. Doctors' ability to rapidly adopt new iPhones presumably reflects their greater disposable income and need to have access to the Internet on the go.

Also See: Apple Watch Is Cool. It's Different. And It's Disappointing For Healthcare.

But there could be real, medical benefits to quick adoption of the iPhone 6, according to Gross. For instance, the iPhone 6's larger screen could help doctors when sharing relevant clinical images or even when browsing medical journals. (At the same time, the larger device could burn battery life faster — a key concern for doctors, who may be relying on their smartphone across a 24-hour or 36-hour shift, Gross pointed out.)

Meanwhile, the iPhone 6's new Health app — and Apple's new HealthKit software platform — could lead to an explosion of health care-related mobile applications.

And that should end up bringing doctors and patients together, Gross suggests. For instance, the iPhone 6's new fitness tracking elements might help doctors "start to have a conversation with their patients about healthier choices," he adds.

"And physicians tend to get excited by software that can help us stay healthier."

How Apple is positioning the iPhone's new health apps.

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