Here’s an interesting infographic from Publicis Healthware International, a healthcare-focused communication firm based in Italy. I think this is interesting and potentially useful for marketers of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and products and services directed at physicians — it gives some idea of how physicians are using social/professional media and identifies some of the trusted communities where they might be reached.

In an accompanying article, Publicis writes that

The proliferation of small and large communities is the result of physicians’ increasing need to share ideas and discuss clinical cases with colleagues in every part of the world.

The article categorizes physicians’ online social media (although “social” doesn’t necessarily express the purpose of these communities) in three ways:

1. Specialty — focused on physician specialties and special interests — Publicis calls this “the long tail of physician communities”
2. Location — country- or language-specific communities
3. Trusted provider — communities that enjoy high confidence among physicians, such as those organized by professional societies

AB — 7 September 2011