Nearly half of online physicians in Western Europe watch online video for professional purposes, according to a new survey.

Online video adoption has grown steadily over the past three years, jumping from only 28% of online European physicians using for professional purposes in 2006 to 46% in 2009.

Online physicians in Western Europe are even more likely to use online video as part of their clinical research than SMS text messaging, blogs, or chatrooms and message boards.

The findings come from the ‘Taking the Pulse Europe v9.0 study’ from US pharmaceutical and healthcare market research company Manhattan Research.

The company argues that the jump in online video use by European doctors means it has become a viable way to reach them in 2010.

Taking the Pulse Europe is Manhattan Research’s market research and advisory service focused on how physicians across Western Europe use the Internet and technology for clinical purposes and for engaging with pharmaceutical companies.

The study was fielded online in Q4 2009 among 1,125 practicing physicians in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

As well as online video the study provides in-depth market research on many other physician technology and digital marketing topics, including email communication, smartphone ownership and mobile activities, use of online journals, virtual conferences, social networking, health and medical website visits, search engines, patient education, pharma website visits, videoconferencing with reps, and electronic detailing.

Manhattan Research is offering a complimentary white paper on the European eHealth Landscape, discussing some of the latest trends in how physicians and patients across Europe use the Internet and technology for health purposes.