Exploring the impact of free live-streamed medical consultation on patient engagement and patient satisfaction in the multistage online consultation process: A quasi-experimental design

IF 6.7 1区计算机科学 Q1 COMPUTER SCIENCE, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Decision Support Systems Pub Date : 2025-02-12 DOI:10.1016/j.dss.2025.114422

Haochen Song , Xitong Guo , Tianshi Wu

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

In recent years, many online healthcare communities (OHCs) in China introduced the feature of free live-streamed medical consultations (FLSMC), which allows patients to communicate with physicians and have an interactive consultation for free through live streaming. Despite the rapid growth of FLSMC, little is known about whether FLSMC can bring benefits to patients when they have online consultation needs in the future. Drawing on signaling theory, this study examines the impact of FLSMC on patient engagement and patient satisfaction in the multistage online consultation process. We further explore the moderating effects of physician's owned and earned signals in the pre-consultation stage by integrating social capital theory with signaling theory. We collect a panel data set of 16,151 physicians from a leading OHC in China. Based on the DID method, a quasi-experimental design, and the instrumental variable method, we demonstrate that FLSMC has a positive effect on patient choice, patient messaging, and patient satisfaction. In addition, we find that the physician's title and online rating can positively moderate the effects of FLSMC on patient choice. This study not only sheds light on the literature on online healthcare by identifying the role of signals in the context of FLSMC, but also provides decision support for patients, physicians, and OHC managers.

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在多阶段在线咨询过程中探索免费医疗直播对患者参与和患者满意度的影响：一种准实验设计

近年来，中国的许多在线医疗社区（ohc）都推出了免费直播医疗咨询（FLSMC）功能，患者可以通过直播与医生进行免费的交流和互动咨询。尽管FLSMC发展迅速，但对于未来患者有在线咨询需求时，FLSMC能否给患者带来益处，我们知之甚少。利用信号传导理论，本研究探讨了FLSMC在多阶段在线咨询过程中对患者参与和患者满意度的影响。我们将社会资本理论与信号理论相结合，进一步探讨医生拥有信号和获得信号在会诊前阶段的调节作用。我们收集了来自中国一家领先的OHC的16,151名医生的面板数据集。基于DID方法、准实验设计和工具变量方法，我们证明了FLSMC对患者选择、患者信息传递和患者满意度有积极的影响。此外，我们发现医生的职称和在线评价可以正向调节FLSMC对患者选择的影响。本研究不仅通过识别信号在FLSMC背景下的作用来阐明在线医疗的文献，而且还为患者、医生和OHC管理人员提供决策支持。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Decision Support Systems 工程技术-计算机：人工智能

CiteScore

14.70

自引率

6.70%

发文量

119

审稿时长

13 months

期刊介绍： The common thread of articles published in Decision Support Systems is their relevance to theoretical and technical issues in the support of enhanced decision making. The areas addressed may include foundations, functionality, interfaces, implementation, impacts, and evaluation of decision support systems (DSSs).