Deng Zhaohua, Hong Ziying, Zhang Wei, Evans Richard, Chen Yanyan
Smart Health Institute, School of Medicine and Health Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences, Brunel University, London, United Kingdom.
J Med Internet Res. 2019 Mar 8;21(3):e10170. doi: 10.2196/10170.
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.
This study aimed to examine whether the physicians' online efforts and their reputation have a relationship with patients' choice of physician on PRWs.
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.
The adjusted R 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 (R=0.30 and R=0.37 in 2 regression models; R=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 (R=0.43 and R=0.46; R=0.16; P<.001) and number of votes received (R=0.33 and R=0.27; R=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 (R=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.
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.
如今，患者通过互联网更频繁地查找医生信息。医生评分网站（PRW）已被视为在接受咨询前深入了解特定医生并获取详细信息的最便捷方式。然而，关于PRW上提供的信息如何影响患者寻求医疗建议的决定，我们知之甚少。
本研究旨在探讨医生的在线努力及其声誉与患者在PRW上选择医生是否存在关联。
基于社会交换理论构建一个模型，以分析与在线患者数量相关的因素。在2017年2月、4月和6月期间，对中国好医生网站上的4037名医生进行了三轮数据收集。以60天内咨询量的增加作为因变量，同时使用线性回归模型分析两组数据。采用固定效应模型分析三轮数据。
线性回归模型中的调整R值分别为0.28和0.27，而在固定效应模型中为0.30。线性回归模型和固定效应模型均拟合良好。在所有模型中均发现医生的努力对在线患者总数有积极影响（两个回归模型中的R分别为0.30和0.37；固定效应模型中的R为0.23；P<0.001）。医生声誉的代理指标显示出不同的结果，医生主页的总浏览量（R分别为0.43和0.46；R为0.16；P<0.001）和收到的投票数（R分别为0.33和0.27；R为0.43；P<0.001）被视为具有积极影响。虚拟礼物在所有模型中均不显著，而感谢信息仅在固定效应模型中显著（R为0.11；P=0.02）。医生的在线努力与咨询患者总数呈正相关，而医生声誉的影响仍不确定。在所有线性回归中，医生职称和医院等级的控制效应均不显著。
医生的在线努力和声誉均有助于增加在线患者的咨询量；然而，医生声誉的影响各不相同。这可能意味着医生的在线努力和声誉在吸引患者方面至关重要，对医生个人资料的策略性操控值得研究。同时也讨论了实际见解。
