DALLAS – As mobile communications devices become ubiquitous in society at large, it shouldn’t be surprising that physicians are using mobile technology at higher rates than ever before.

And soon, Internet-enabled “smartphone” technology may be leading the mobile pack.

According to a recent study by the Dallas-based Diffusion Group, smartphones will become essential weapons in the physician’s arsenal in the next few years. By 2011, the study estimates that close to 70 percent of active physicians will use smartphones, up from the approximately 49 percent of doctors that currently use the devices.

“The new breed of physician is technologically savvy, and the smartphone is considered just another part of the toolkit,” said Alex Kasten, Diffusion Group analyst and author of Defining the Black Bag for the 21st Century: The Evolution of Mobile eHealth Applications. “Physicians want devices and applications that will help them in their nomadic lives. They are looking to gain greater efficiencies at the point-of care setting.”

Kasten defines a smartphone as a “converged multipurpose device” which features a combination of Internet access, e-mail access, scheduling software, a built-in camera, contact management software, accelerometers, navigation software, and the ability to read business documents in a variety of formats.