Discursive positioning of doctors and e‑patients in online medical consultations in China

Abstract This study investigates the identity positioning of doctors and e‑patients in online medical consultations (OMCs) in China from the perspective of poststructuralist discourse analysis. Adopting positioning theory as the analytical framework, the study examines 100 asynchronous text-based OMCs with the purpose of identifying the positions of the OMC participants and the pragmatic function of these positions. The study found that the identity of e‑patients and doctors reflects multiple positions that are constructed and negotiated in the OMC discourse, including the emotional support seeker/giver position, the online buyer/seller position, the peer position, and the ‘family member’ position. Taken together, these positions can help establish an affective relationality between doctors and e‑patients, which contributes to a positive image of the participants and to the empowerment of e‑patients in particular.