The Spillover Effect of Online Medical Consultation Services on Offline Physician-Patient Relationship: Patient Perspective.

Abstract

Online medical consultation services (OMCS) in China always receive high ratings, while offline medical services receive many complaints. The COVID-19 pandemic has strengthened the connection between online and offline medical services in China, but the important question whether the online-offline connection can bring benefits for offline medical services is rarely studied. From a patient perspective, this study explores the impact mechanism of OMCS on the offline physician-patient relationship, attempting to enhance the spillover effect of OMCS on offline medical services and promote communication between physicians and patients. The study adopts trust transfer theory and uses a cross-sectional survey regarding questions about online-to-offline medical service to validate a moderated serial mediation model. The results showed that OMCS usage makes individuals perceive significantly higher levels of offline physician trust and physician-patient relationships. Individuals' satisfaction with OMCS enhances offline physician-patient relationships through the sequential mediating effect of online and offline trust toward physicians. In the online-to-offline physician trust transfer process, online-offline medical service connection and patients' prior satisfaction with offline physician service play significant moderating roles. The trust transfer effect is more effective when the online-offline medical service connection is high and the prior offline service satisfaction is low. This study sheds new light on online-to-offline service and OMCS research, and contributes to trust transfer theory. The study also discusses the practical implications for stakeholders.