Abstract
BackgroundWith the rapid development of information technology and web-based communities, a growing number of patients choose to consult physicians in online health communities (OHCs) for information and treatment. Although extant research has primarily discussed factors that influence the consulting choices of OHC patients, there is still a lack of research on the effects of log-in behaviors and web reviews on patient consultation.ObjectiveThis study aims to explore the impact of physicians’ log-in behavior and web reviews on patient consultation.MethodsWe conducted a longitudinal study to examine the effects of physicians’ log-in behaviors and web reviews on patient consultation by analyzing short-panel data from 911 physicians over five periods in a Chinese OHC.ResultsThe results showed that the physician’s log-in behavior had a positive effect on patient consultation. The maximum number of days with no log-ins for a physician should be 20. The two web signals (log-in behavior and web reviews) had no complementary relationship. Moreover, the offline signal (ie, offline status) has different moderating effects on the two web signals, positively moderating the relationship between web reviews and patient consultation.ConclusionsOur study contributes to the eHealth literature and advances the understanding of physicians’ web-based behaviors. This study also provides practical implications, showing that physicians’ log-in behavior alone can affect patient consultation rather than complementing web reviews.
Highlights
BackgroundWith the development of Health 2.0 technologies, the number of people using the internet to meet their health-related needs is increasing [1]
Our research found that a physician’s log-in behavior and web reviews did not have a complementary relationship in affecting patient consultation, which was different from the findings of previous research on service quality [12,14]
This study investigated the main effects of web signals and their interactions with offline signals
Summary
BackgroundWith the development of Health 2.0 technologies, the number of people using the internet to meet their health-related needs is increasing [1]. A web-based physician-patient community is a platform that connects physicians with patients where patients can consult physicians on health issues and disease treatments anytime and anywhere. The emergence of OHCs has effectively alleviated the problem of information asymmetry between physicians and patients. Unlike traditional health care services, OHCs give patients the opportunity to review the abundant amount of information about various physicians and use this information to choose the physician whom they https://www.jmir.org/2021/6/e25367. With the rapid development of information technology and web-based communities, a growing number of patients choose to consult physicians in online health communities (OHCs) for information and treatment. Extant research has primarily discussed factors that influence the consulting choices of OHC patients, there is still a lack of research on the effects of log-in behaviors and web reviews on patient consultation
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