Online Consultation Research Articles

Structure and dynamics of communicative interaction between a potential patient and a doctor during written medical Internet consultation

Due to the increased pace of digitalization in all areas of life, including medicine, more citizens can receive qualified medical care. The period of the СOVID-2019 pandemic has clearly demonstrated that telemedicine is becoming a relevant area of medical practice. In particular, the role of online consultation in medical communication is significantly increasing. In this regard, medical network discourse becomes the focus of scholarly interest. Our research is aimed at verifying the scenario of medical consultations on medical online forums. The research material includes 5259 messages in Russian from 2018-2023 as part of 60 medical consultations on cardiology on rusmedserv Internet forum. The empirical study design included the collection and structuring of research material by means of corpus methods; the data were described, systematized and generalized; the qualitative interpretation of the data was carried out on the basis of the communicative and pragmatic method of analysis developed by Issers (2008). It was found that the dynamics and structure of medical consultations are generally maintained while a doctor and a potential patient are interacting through an Internet forum. The obtained data also confirm the findings presented in academic literature on “doctor - patient” communication via Internet forums. The results of the research contribute to the understanding of written medical Internet consultation proving that it unfolds inconsistently, but recurrently; the communication innovations mainly relate to the dynamics of communication scenario during medical Internet consultation deployment. The obtained results may contribute to the development of a more effective “patient - doctor” communication model focused on the mission of telemedicine.

MEDIPLUS- PROVIDE MEDICAL SERVICES

ABSTRACT: MediPlus is a web-based platform designed to streamline the provision of medical services. Utilizing core PHP for backend functionalities and HTML, CSS, and Bootstrap 4 for frontend development, MediPlus aims to improve access to healthcare by offering various services such as appointment scheduling, medical records management, and online consultations. This paper details the development process, technical architecture, features, and potential impact of MediPlus on the healthcare industry. At MediPlus, we prioritize your well-being and strive to make healthcare more accessible, convenient, and patient-centricAt MediPlus, we leverage technology and medical expertise to deliver patient-centered care, empowering individuals to take control of their health and wellbeing. Join our platform today and experience the future of healthcare.” KEYWORDS– Medical Services Platform, Appointment Scheduling, Online Consultations, Healthcare Accessibility, Scalability in Healthcare IT.

Sistem Informasi Kesehatan Mata Berbasis Web untuk Memfasilitasi Pemeriksaan Mata pada Siswa Sekolah Dasar

The increased use of gadgets among children has led to a significant rise in cases of myopia among elementary school students. This study aims to design and develop a web-based Eye Health Information System to facilitate eye examinations for elementary school students. The development method used in this study is the waterfall model, which includes the stages of requirement analysis, design, coding, testing, and system implementation. The results of the study show that the developed information system provides essential features such as appointment scheduling with eye doctors, access to educational videos, and online consultations, all designed to raise awareness and improve access to eye health services for students. System testing demonstrates that all features function as expected, with a user-friendly and responsive interface. In conclusion, this system is expected to be an effective tool in supporting eye health examinations and improving the quality of health services for elementary school students.

'Getting it write' in a new era of patient online access to primary care health records.

To explore how to help make online consultation notes easier for patient audiences to understand. Most patients in England will soon be able to access all new prospective entries (including free-text) within their online primary care health record via the NHS App or other online services. We conducted interviews and focus group discussions with 26 patients from underserved communities. Participants responded to vignettes about fictional patient consultation scenarios and assessed the clarity of corresponding simulated records. Participants were then asked to identify potential comprehension issues, offensive content, or anxiety triggers. Most participants struggled to understand a large proportion of simulated notes, particularly medical acronyms, clinician shorthand, and non-clinical abbreviations. Participants also identified issues that may cause unintended offence or additional anxiety. Participants considered that most patients will struggle to fully understand the content of their consultation notes in their current format. They made a number of suggestions about how this service may be improved to meet the needs of patient audiences and maintain positive patient-clinician relationships. Opening up online record access to include patient audiences necessitates a significant cultural shift in the way that consultation notes are written and used. To maximise NHS investment in this policy and avoid worsening health inequalities, it is essential to ensure that all patients can understand and access the benefits of online access to their notes. To do this, clinicians need to be supported to manage the challenges of writing for patient audiences, while continuing to maintain effective clinical care.

«TECHNOLOGY OF LANDSCAPING EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS» PROJECT AS A BASIS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION OF PHYSICS TEACHERS DURING THEIR FUNDAMENTAL TRAINING: ISRAELI EXPERIENCE

This article addresses the pressing issue of fundamental training for future physics teachers, emphasizing the need to bridge theory and practice, integrate natural sciences with environmental education, and develop students’ research and environmental competencies. The focus is on the importance of collaborative project activities between educators and future physics teachers as a cornerstone of comprehensive training. The author introduces the project “Technology of Landscaping Educational Institutions” as a key method for environmental education during the fundamental training of physics teachers at a pedagogical university. Key project tasks included: 1) identifying ecological foundations for creating green spaces in educational institutions; 2) describing functional zones within the institution for potential improvements; 3) substantiating the roles of green spaces in the educational yard; 4) developing landscaping technology for the institution’s courtyard; and 5) exploring international landscaping practices through the example of Ariel University in Israel. The project was carried out through partnership pedagogy, cross-cultural communication, and inter-university cooperation between V.G. Korolenko Poltava National Pedagogical University and Ariel University. During the project, students, who are future physics teachers from V.G. Korolenko Poltava National Pedagogical University, engaged with scientific sources and the website of Ariel University. They participated in virtual tours of Ariel University’s campus and attended online consultations to assist with project tasks. As a result, Ukrainian students developed and presented reports on the technology of environmentalization for educational institutions and proposed their own landscape design concepts for the Poltava National Pedagogical University’s grounds. The project “Technology of Landscaping Educational Institutions” is a paragon of partnership pedagogy, cross-cultural communication, and inter-university collaboration. Knowing the nature, students become harmoniously developed and comprehensively aware personalities, which is an important element of modern educational process.

Usage and limitations of medical consultation with patients’ families using online video calls: a prospective cohort study

BackgroundFew studies have been conducted on the usage of telehealth focusing on consultations between patients’ families and physicians. This study aimed to identify the usage and limitations of online medical consultations with patients’ families compared to the traditional in-person consultations.MethodsWe conducted a prospective cohort study from April 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021, at an educational acute-care hospital in Japan. The study included hospitalized patients aged 20 years or older and their family members for whom an online or in-person medical consultation between the family member and physician was conducted during the hospitalization period. The primary endpoints assessed were three topics pertaining to medical consultation: medical conditions and treatment plans, policies for life-threatening events, and post-discharge support. The secondary endpoint was the number of consultations required.ResultsOnline consultations and traditional in-person consultations were provided to 58 and 53 patients’ families, respectively. Of the patients in the online consultation group who underwent multiple consultations, 46 (79%) also underwent in-person consultations. Regarding the topics, all the patients’ families in both consultation groups had consultations on medical conditions and treatment plans; regarding the policy for life-threatening events, 47% of patient families in the online consultation group were consulted compared to 53% of those in the in-person group. Regarding post-discharge support, 59% of patient families in the online group were consulted compared to 40% in the in-person group. In the online consultation group of 58 patients’ families, 188 consultations were conducted, including 95 online and 93 in-person consultations. Consultations on policy for life-threatening events were significantly more frequent in in-person consultations than in online consultations (p < 0.05). Regarding post-discharge support, online consultations were significantly more frequent than in-person consultations (p < 0.05). The number of family members who attended online consultations was significantly higher than those who attended in-person consultations (p < 0.05).ConclusionsOnline consultation between the physician and patient’s family may be an alternative to in-person consultation for explaining medical conditions and treatment plans. However, in-person consultation still plays an important role in sensitive topics, such as policy consultation for life-threatening events.

Innovation and Practice of "yae920.com" One-stop Service Mode from the Perspective of Digital Transformation

With the deepening of digital transformation, the medical service industry is facing huge innovation opportunities and challenges. This paper studies the "yae920.com" one-stop service model and discusses the impact of digital transformation on its service innovation and practice. The study first analyzed the overall impact of the digital transformation on the medical service industry, including the optimization of the service process, the improvement of the patient experience, and the improvement of the operational efficiency. Then, through the method of case study, it expounds how "yae920.com" innovates the one-stop service mode in the process of digital transformation, including the integration and optimization of functions such as online appointment registration, online consultation and consultation, electronic prescription circulation, online drug purchase and distribution and so on. The research also deeply explores the challenges and coping strategies encountered by "yae920.com" in the process of service model innovation, as well as the practical results achieved. The research results show that the digital transformation provides strong support for the innovation of the "yae920.com" one-stop service mode, and effectively improves the service efficiency and patient satisfaction. The research in this paper has certain reference value for promoting the digital transformation and service mode innovation of the medical service industry.

Differences in Vaccination Consultation Preferred by Primary Health Care Workers and Residents in Community Settings.

To evaluate the preference of primary HCWs and residents on vaccination consultation in community health services to provide evidence for vaccine hesitancy intervention strategies. A discrete choice model (DCM) was constructed to evaluate the preference difference between primary HCWs and residents on vaccination consultation in community health services in China during May-July 2022. A total of 282 residents and 204 HCWs were enrolled in this study. The residents preferred consulting with an HCW-led approach (β = 2.168), with specialized content (β = 0.954), and accompanied by telephone follow-up (β = 1.552). In contrast, the HCWs preferred face-to-face consultation (β = 0.540) with an HCW-led approach (β = 0.458) and specialized content (β = 0.409), accompanied by telephone follow-up (β = 0.831). College residents and residents with underlying self-reported disease may be near-critically inclined to choose traditional consultation (an offline, face-to-face consultation with standardized content and more prolonged duration) rather than a new-media consulting group (an online consultation with specialized content within 5 min). Urban HCWs preferred long-term consultation groups (the resident-led offline consultation with follow-up lasting more than 5 min). In contrast, rural HCWs preferred efficient consultation (the HCW-led, short-duration, standardized offline consultation mode). The selection preference for vaccine consultation reveals a gap between providers and demanders, with different groups exhibiting distinct preferences. Identifying these targeted gaps can help design more acceptable and efficient interventions, increasing their likelihood of success and leading to better resource allocation for policymakers to develop targeted vaccination policies.

Netiquette and social media engagement of doctors: A renaissance in health-care delivery

Netiquette and social media engagement of doctors: A renaissance in health-care delivery

Superior medical resources or geographic proximity? The joint effects of regional medical resource disparity, geographic distance, and cultural differences on online medical consultation

Online medical consultation platforms enable patients to seek health advice from physicians across geographic regions. In this study, we analyze patterns of online consultation between patients and physicians. We examine the joint effects of regional medical resource disparity, geographic distance, and cultural differences between patients and physicians on patients' decisions about which physicians they consult online. Using a unique dataset of city-to-city tuples based on 813,684 online consultation records and combining it with region-level data from multiple external sources, we find that while regional medical resource disparity drives patients from medically disadvantaged regions to seek online consultations with physicians from medically advantaged regions, geographic distance and cultural differences tend to constrain these consultations. We also find that cultural differences can amplify the impact of regional medical resource disparity, whereas geographic distance may lessen this effect. Further, we discover that the constraining effect of geographic distance is partly due to the online-to-offline nature of online medical consultations. Moreover, additional analyses suggest that physicians' online reputation and information about physicians’ participation on the platform can help alleviate the negative effects of geographic distance and cultural differences. These findings hold significant implications for the allocation of medical resources and the formulation of healthcare policies.

When outpatient appointment meets online consultation: A joint scheduling optimization framework

While the provision of Online Consultation Services (OCS) has brought convenience to patients, the original offline outpatient workflow may struggle to maintain efficiency. Hospital managers’ concerns lie on how to reconcile the operations of offline service with the provision of OCS and what are the latent impacts of OCS on the operational performances of healthcare system. The outpatient appointment scheduling is a crucial part of the workflow decision that affects both quality of offline services and the fragmented idle time that doctors can reply to their Follow-up patients (FUP) during working hours. To smooth the fluctuations in workload of OCS, we introduce a novel decision variable—the recommended maximum number of FUP that a doctor should serve during overtime hours (FUP-MN)—and propose an inter-day service shifting strategy that any requests for OCS exceeding the FUP-MN will be deferred to be served in the fragmented idle time of the next session. We formulate a stochastic programming model to search for the optimal combination of the appointment schedule and FUP-MN. Propositions are conducted to demonstrate the model is valid not only in coordinating the dual demand for online and offline services, but also in restricting the potential overflow of OCS requests. We provide a general solution approach and also develop a heuristic algorithm to quickly obtain optimal workflows at different OCS demand levels. The numerical experimental results indicate that an appropriate introduction of OCS can give the healthcare system a strong ability to resist the adverse effects of uncertainty.

Selling by contributing: the monetization strategy of individual content providers in the light of human brand

PurposeThe integration of social media and e-commerce has resulted in a rising phenomenon among individual content providers (ICPs), who used to offer free content, to provide consumers with paid content, such as online courses, Q&amp;As or consultations. Despite the prevalence of ICPs’ content monetization, empirical research has rarely studied its underlying mechanism. This paper examines how the characteristics of free content contributed by ICPs on social media platforms influence their paid content sales, focusing on the perspective of human brand.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical setting is an online knowledge exchange platform, where users are allowed to provide free content (e.g. answers) on the social media platform and launch paid content (e.g. lectures) on the e-commerce platform. A machine learning technique is employed to construct measures for the characteristics of free content, and fixed-effects estimation is presented to confirm which factors have a significant influence on the sales of paid content.FindingsThe empirical results show that the quality, diversity and expertness of free content have a significant positive impact on the sales of the ICP-paid content, with the brand popularity of ICP playing a mediating role.Originality/valueThis study is the first attempt to demystify the relationship between content contribution and ICPs’ content monetization from the perspective of human brand. The findings validate the effectiveness of the “Selling by Contribution” strategy and provide valuable insights for ICPs and social media platforms.

Forecasting healthcare service volumes with machine learning algorithms

AbstractAs an efficacious solution to remedying the imbalance of medical resources, the online medical platform has burgeoned expeditiously. Apt allotment of medical resources on the medical platform can facilitate patients in reasonably selecting physicians and time slots, coordinating doctors' clinical arrangements, and generating precise projections of medical platform service volume to enhance patient satisfaction and alleviate physicians' workload. To this end, grounded in the data‐driven method, this paper assembles an exhaustive feature set encompassing hospital features, physician features, and patient features. Through feature selection, appropriate features are screened, and machine learning algorithms are leveraged to accurately forecast doctors' online consultation volume. Subsequently, to glean the influence relationship between online medical services and offline medical services, this paper introduces features of offline medical services such as hospital registration volume and regional gross domestic product (GDP) to solve the prediction of offline medical service volume using online medical information. The findings signify that online data feature prediction can pinpoint superior machine learning models for online medical platform service volume (with the optimal accuracy up to 96.89%). Online features exert a positive effect on predicting offline medical service volume, but the accuracy declines to some degree (the optimal accuracy is 73%). Physicians with favorable reputations on the online platform are more susceptible to attain higher offline appointment volumes when online consultation volume is a vital feature impacting offline appointment volume.

An International, Multidisciplinary Consensus Set of Patient-Centered Outcome Measures for Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders.

Background: In 1990, the United States' Institute of Medicine promoted the principles of outcomes monitoring in the alcohol and other drugs treatment field to improve the evidence synthesis and quality of research. While various national outcome measures have been developed and employed, no global consensus on standard measurement has been agreed for addiction. It is thus timely to build an international consensus. Convened by the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM), an international, multi-disciplinary working group reviewed the existing literature and reached consensus for a globally applicable minimum set of outcome measures for people who seek treatment for addiction. Methods: To this end, 26 addiction experts from 11 countries and 5 continents, including people with lived experience (n = 5; 19%), convened over 16 months (December 2018-March 2020) to develop recommendations for a minimum set of outcome measures. A structured, consensus-building, modified Delphi process was employed. Evidence-based proposals for the minimum set of measures were generated and discussed across eight videoconferences and in a subsequent structured online consultation. The resulting set was reviewed by 123 professionals and 34 people with lived experience internationally. Results: The final consensus-based recommendation includes alcohol, substance, and tobacco use disorders, as well as gambling and gaming disorders in people aged 12 years and older. Recommended outcome domains are frequency and quantity of addictive disorders, symptom burden, health-related quality of life, global functioning, psychosocial functioning, and overall physical and mental health and wellbeing. Standard case-mix (moderator) variables and measurement time points are also recommended. Conclusions: Use of consistent and meaningful outcome measurement facilitates carer-patient relations, shared decision-making, service improvement, benchmarking, and evidence synthesis for the evaluation of addiction treatment services and the dissemination of best practices. The consensus set of recommended outcomes is freely available for adoption in healthcare settings globally.

How Positive Sentiment of Telemedicine Applications using Naïve Bayes and Support Vector Machine?

The telemedicine software lets users schedule appointments with physicians or hospitals, purchase medications online, read health-related news and publications, and have online consultations with doctors. Public opinion is necessary for this application to meet societal needs. The public's perception of contemporary health applications can be ascertained by looking to public opinion. Fine-grained sentiment analysis is used in public opinion taking to extract information from evaluations posted by the public and categorize it into positive and negative groups. Using RapidMiner as a supporting tool, sentiment analysis uses the Naïve Bayes Classification algorithm and Support Vector Machine to determine an accuracy value. After analyzing data from two different sources—Twitter and Playstore—it can be said that the Support Vector Machine algorithm performs 90.99% more accurately in predicting public opinion than the Naïve Bayes algorithm, which achieves 88.55% accuracy.

Promoting new users’ online health consultation services usage behavior strategically

Online consultation services have the potential to reduce the workload of healthcare staff, provide timely care to patients, and improve doctor-patient relationships. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the development of these services and platforms, but it remains to be seen whether the general public will continue to use them after the pandemic is under control. This research proposes a framework to examine the factors contributing to UK adults’ continued usage of online healthcare consultation services after COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted. A total of 430 new users completed surveys, and the results indicate that expectation confirmation, system quality, and information quality can positively impact users’ self-efficacy toward using online consultation services. This, in turn, can influence their continued usage behavior. Furthermore, the results suggest that participants’ perception of health risks can moderate the relationship between self-efficacy and continued usage behavior. The strategic implications of these findings are discussed.

Pengaruh E-Service Quality dan E-Trust terhadap E-Satisfaction dan Dampaknya pada E-Repurchase Intention Pengguna Layanan Konsultasi Media Online

Apps for telemedicine are becoming increasingly popular as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Telemedicine thus competes with other providers to meet patient demand. Many tactics are used to overcome this, such as providing confidence and quality patients. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of E-Service Quality and E-Trust on E-Satisfaction and its impact on E-Repurchase Intention on users of Online Medical Consultation Services. This type of research is quantitative. The sample of this study amounted to 100 respondents who had an Online Medical Consultation Service application on a mobile phone and had at least consulted through the application or website at least once. The analysis method used is path analysis. The results of the study show that there is a direct influence between the variables of E-service Quality on E-Satisfaction in users of online medical consultation services. There is a direct influence between E-Trust variables on E-Satisfaction in users of online medical consultation services. There is a direct influence between the variables E-service Quality and E-Trust on E-Satisfaction in users of online consulting services. There is a direct influence between the variables E-service Quality, E-Trust, and E-Satisfaction, on E-Repurchase Intention in users of online medical consultation services. There is an Effect of E-service Quality and E-Trust on E-Satisfaction of 9.9% while the remaining 90.1% (100% - 9.9%) is contributed by other factors. There is an effect of E-service Quality, E-Trust, and E-Satisfaction on E-Repurchase Intention of 34% while the remaining 66% (100% - 34%) is contributed by other factors.

Collaborative Communication: A Qualitative Study of Roles and Emphases of Health Care Providers in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Clinical nursing in obstetrics and gynecology is a technically demanding job. Doctors and nurses have different professional backgrounds and work priorities, and there are differences in communication modes, which can easily lead to poor communication between medical staff and their patients. Therefore this study aims to examine the different communication roles and emphases of obstetrician and gynecologists, nurses and midwives in different sections of SEGUE framework, and further navigate the effectiveness and differences of offline and online provider-patient communication. This study employs in-depth interviews to address the research questions. A total of 24 health care providers, including 8 doctors, 5 midwives and 11 nurses, were interviewed face-to-face or by telephone. Doctors pay more attention to the "giving information" stage, while nurses pay more attention to "set the stage" and "elicit information" steps. Midwives and nurses spend more time with patients before and after labor. In addition to information giving, they also accommodate the "understand the patient's perspective" and "end the encounter" steps. Nurses and midwives would attach greater importance to "understanding of patients' perspective". Online medical consultation is more convenient for patients, which can be used as a follow-up complement to offline medical consultation. The health care providers of different types in obstetrics and gynecology communicate collaboratively with patients, highlighting the equally important role of midwives and nurses when communicating with patients. Nurses focus on "set the stage" and "elicit information" stage. Midwife is another important information source and medical care provider, especially for pregnant women in stable conditions. Nutrition clinic of midwife could be recommended for hospitals in second- and third-tier cities, which could help to alleviate obstetricians' workload. The provision of an online collaborative consultation could be beneficial supplement after face-to-face doctor-patient communication.

교육과정의 계속성을 고려한 글쓰기 상담 개선 방안 연구

The purpose of this study is to analyze and improve the problems of the writing counseling program so that writing education is provided in all grades based on the continuity of the curriculum in university writing education. ‘Continuity’ refers to organizing important elements in the curriculum so that they are repeated and vertically related. In writing education, continuity can be thought of as ‘strategic aspects of the writing process’, ‘knowledge aspects of genre and form’, and ‘experiential aspects of repeated writing’. However, there are problems with the preference for online consultation, one-time editing focusing on results, lack of understanding of the genre, and subject-related writing. In order to realize continuity in writing counseling, a smooth communication device must be established in online counseling, it must be process-oriented, and clients must be actively guided through this. Additionally, collaboration with major professors is required along with guidance on the genre.

Quality of asynchronous webchats vs in-person consultations for postpartum depression in China: a cross-sectional, mixed methods study using standardized patients

Prompt professional care for postpartum depression (PPD) is difficult to obtain in China. Though online consultations improve accessibility and reduce stigma, the quality of services compared to in-person consultations is unclear. Five trained, undisclosed "standardized patients" (SPs) made "asynchronous webchats" visits and in-person visits with psychiatrists. Visits were made to 85 psychiatrists who were based in 69 hospitals in ten provincial capital cities. The care between online and in-person consultations with the same psychiatrist was compared, including diagnosis, guideline adherence, and patient-centeredness. False discovery rate (FDR) was used to adjust p values. Third visits using asynchronous webchats were made to psychiatrists who offered discrepant diagnoses. Thematic content analysis was used for the discrepancies. The proportion of diagnostic accuracy was lower for online than in-person visits (76.5% [65/85] vs 91.8% [78/85]; pFDR=0.0066), as were the proportions of completing questions involving clinical history (16.6% vs 42.7%; pFDR < 0.0001), and management decisions (16.2% vs 27.5%; pFDR < 0.0001) consistent with recommended guidelines. Patient-centeredness was lower online than in-person (pFDR < 0.0001). Fifteen of 16 psychiatrists completed third visits, most of them considered lack of nonverbal information online as a key barrier. Online consultations using asynchronous webchats were inferior to in-person consultations, with respect to diagnostic accuracy, adherence to recommended clinical guidelines, and patient-centeredness. To fully realise the potential benefits of online consultations and to prevent safety issues, there is an urgent need for major improvement in the quality and oversight of these consultations. China Medical Board, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Global Cooperation Department.