Physicians in the BRIC region – Russia and India in particular – are incorporating social networks and online communities into their professional resource mix. This trend is likely due in part to user-generated content from peers filling a gap in the availability of online clinical resources in some of these high growth pharma markets, according to a new study from Manhattan Research.

The findings come from the pharmaceutical and healthcare market research company's Taking the Pulse BRIC study, just released to clients this month as part of its Taking the Pulse Global Series. Taking the Pulse BRIC is a market research and advisory service focused on how physicians in Brazil, Russia, India and China use digital media and technology for professional purposes and to obtain information and services from pharma.

Among physicians who are already online for professional purposes in Russia and India, more than half have used a social network or online community for a professional reason in the past year. Adoption is more moderate in China and Brazil; however physicians in these countries are stronger users of social networking for their work and learning than those in more mature pharma markets such as Canada and Japan.

In addition to filling a vacuum created by the absence of local independent medical publishers, professional communities and social networks allow physicians to connect to their peers in these geographically expansive markets – which was near to impossible to achieve before these networks were available.

"It's fascinating to watch physician social media in different markets. In the U.S. and Europe, it has grown very slowly mostly because physicians are highly satisfied with the clinical content they already access online," said Monique Levy, vice president of Research at Manhattan Research. "However, in less mature content markets – where physicians are still hungry for clinical information and peer knowledge – these networks are thriving."

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