Dataset Information

The Effect of Online Effort and Reputation of Physicians on Patients' Choice: 3-Wave Data Analysis of China's Good Doctor Website.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Nowadays, patients are seeking physician information more frequently via the internet. Physician-rating websites (PRWs) have been recognized as the most convenient way to gain insight and detailed information about specific physicians before receiving consultation. However, little is known about how the information provided on PRWs may affect patients' decisions to seek medical advice.

Objective

This study aimed to examine whether the physicians' online efforts and their reputation have a relationship with patients' choice of physician on PRWs.

Methods

A model, based on social exchange theory, was developed to analyze the factors associated with the number of online patients. A 3-wave data collection exercise, covering 4037 physicians on China's Good Doctor website, was conducted during the months of February, April, and June 2017. Increases in consultation in a 60-day period were used as the dependent variable, whereas 2 series of data were analyzed using linear regression modeling. The fixed-effect model was used to analyze the 3-wave data.

Results

The adjusted R² value in the linear regression models were 0.28 and 0.27, whereas in the fixed-effect model, it was .30. Both the linear regression and fixed-effect models yielded a good fit. A positive effect of physicians' effort on the aggregated number of online patients was identified in all models (R²=0.30 and R²=0.37 in 2 regression models; R²=0.23 in fixed effect model; P<.001). The proxies of physicians' reputations indicated different results, with total number of page views of physicians' homepages (R²=0.43 and R²=0.46; R²=0.16; P<.001) and number of votes received (R²=0.33 and R²=0.27; R²=0.43; P<.001) being seen as positive. Virtual gifts were not significant in all models, whereas thank-you messages were only significant in the fixed-effect model (R²=0.11; P=.02). The effort made by physicians online is positively associated with their aggregated number of patients consulted, whereas the effect of a physician's reputation remains uncertain. The control effect of a physician's title and hospital's level was not significant in all linear regressions.

Conclusions

Both the effort and reputation of physicians online contribute to the increased number of online patients' consultation; however, the influence of a physician's reputation varies. This may imply that physicians' online effort and reputation are critical in attracting patients and that strategic manipulation of physician profiles is worthy of study. Practical insights are also discussed.

SUBMITTER: Deng Z

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6429049 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

The Effect of Online Effort and Reputation of Physicians on Patients' Choice: 3-Wave Data Analysis of China's Good Doctor Website.

Deng Zhaohua Z Hong Ziying Z Zhang Wei W Evans Richard R Chen Yanyan Y

Journal of medical Internet research 20190308 3

<h4>Background</h4>Nowadays, patients are seeking physician information more frequently via the internet. Physician-rating websites (PRWs) have been recognized as the most convenient way to gain insight and detailed information about specific physicians before receiving consultation. However, little is known about how the information provided on PRWs may affect patients' decisions to seek medical advice.<h4>Objective</h4>This study aimed to examine whether the physicians' online efforts and thei ...[more]

PMID: 30848726

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Mobile health (mHealth) is becoming more popular as a way of sharing medical information. For the patient, it saves time, reduces the need for travel, reduces the cost of searching for information, and brings medical services "to your fingertips." However, it also brings information overload and makes the patient's choice of physician more difficult. OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to identify the types of physician information that play a key role in patients' choice of physician and to explore the mechanism by which this information contributes to this choice. METHODS:Based on the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model and online trust theory, we proposed a research model to explain the influence of physician information on patients' choice of physician. The model was based on cognitive trust and affective trust and considered the moderating role of patient expertise. Study 1 was an eye-tracking experiment (n=42) to identify key factors affecting patients' choice of physician. Study 2 was a questionnaire study (n=272); Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling was used to validate the research model. RESULTS:The results of Study 1 revealed that seven types of physician information played a key role in patients' choice of physician. The results of Study 2 revealed that (1) physicians' profile photo information affected patients' choice of physician by positively influencing affective trust (P<.001); (2) physicians' nonprofile photo information affected patients' choice of physician by positively influencing cognitive trust (P<.001); (3) patient-generated information affected patients' choice of physician by positively affecting cognitive trust (P<.001) and affective trust (P<.001), and patient expertise played a positive moderating role on both (P=.04 and P=.01, respectively); and (4) cognitive trust and affective trust both positively affected patients' choice of physician, with affective trust playing a more significant role (P<.001 and P<.001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS:Seven types of physician information were mainly used by patients when choosing physicians offering mHealth services; trust played an important role in this choice. In addition, the level of patient expertise was an important variable in moderating the influence of physician information and patients' trust. This paper supports the theoretical basis of information selection and processing by patients. These findings can help guide app developers in the construction of medical apps and in the management of physician information in order to facilitate patients' choice of physician.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Online reputation management (ORM) is an emerging practice strategy that emphasizes the systematic and proactive monitoring of online reviews relating to one's professional reputation. OBJECTIVE:We developed this survey project to assess whether radiation oncologists are aware of ORM and how it is utilized in their practices. We hypothesized that ORM is largely unknown by most practicing radiation oncologists and that little time is spent actively managing their reputations. METHODS:An online survey was submitted to 1222 radiation oncologists using the Qualtrics research platform. Physician emails were gathered from the American Society for Radiation Oncology member directory. A total of 85 physicians initiated the survey, whereas 76 physicians completed more than or equal to 94% (15/16) of the survey questions and were subsequently used in our analyses. The survey consisted of 15 questions querying practice demographics, patient satisfaction determination, ORM understanding, and activities to address ORM and 1 question for physicians to opt-in to a US $50 Amazon gift card raffle. The survey data were summarized using a frequency table, and data were analyzed using the Chi-square test, Fisher exact test, and Spearman correlation coefficients. RESULTS:We calculated a 7% (85/1222) response rate for our survey, with a completion rate of 89% (76/85). A majority of respondents (97%, 74/76) endorsed being somewhat or strongly concerned about patient satisfaction (P<.001). However, 58% (44/76) of respondents reported spending 0 hours per week reviewing or managing their online reputation and 39% (30/76) reported spending less than 1 hour per week (P<.001). A majority of physicians (58%, 44/76) endorsed no familiarity with ORM (P<.001) and 70% (53/76) did not actively manage their online reputation (P<.001). Although 83% (63/76) of respondents strongly or somewhat believed that patients read online reviews (P<.001), 57% (43/76) of respondents did not check their online reviews (P=.25) and 80% (61/76) endorsed never responding to online reviews (P<.001). Moreover, 58% (44/76) of the respondents strongly or somewhat supported the idea of managing their online reputation going forward (P=.001). In addition, 11 out of the 28 pairs of questions asked in our correlation studies reached statistical significance. Degree of concern for patient satisfaction and the notion of managing one's ORM going forward were the 2 most frequently correlated topics of statistical significance in our analyses. CONCLUSIONS:ORM is presently under-recognized in radiation oncology. Although most practitioners are concerned about patient satisfaction, little effort is directed toward the internet on this matter. ORM offers an area of practice improvement for many practicing radiation oncologists.

Dataset Information

The Effect of Online Effort and Reputation of Physicians on Patients' Choice: 3-Wave Data Analysis of China's Good Doctor Website.

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

The Effect of Online Effort and Reputation of Physicians on Patients' Choice: 3-Wave Data Analysis of China's Good Doctor Website.

Similar Datasets

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