Foot in both camps: How do activities on third-party online healthcare platforms affect doctors' demand on official online healthcare platforms?

Abstract

Using empirical data from a third-party platform and a comprehensive public hospital (equipped with an official online healthcare platform) in China, this study employs a two-stage Heckman selection model and find that third-party online healthcare platforms (OHPs) should not be considered an obstacle to promoting official OHPs. Instead, doctors' activities on third-party OHPs increase the demand for doctors on official OHPs. Moreover, this study explores the heterogeneity in the effects of the doctor groups. For example, the impact of specific efforts is stronger for doctors with higher professional titles but weaker for doctors with higher online ratings. This study provides valuable insights for policymakers and hospital administrators to promote and coordinate online services across multiple platforms.