Wang Hongyang, Jin Jian, Li Li, Liu Jiaqi, Wang Da
School of Information Technology and Management, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing 100029, China.
School of Government, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
Healthcare (Basel). 2025 Jun 13;13(12):1418. doi: 10.3390/healthcare13121418.
Online healthcare offers an effective solution to reduce regional disparities in medical access. However, building patient trust in a virtual environment, particularly amid digital divide challenges, remains critical for the sustainable development of healthcare platforms. This study investigates how doctors' professional experience, communicated through online biographies, influences patient consultation decisions, aiming to uncover strategies that enhance trust and facilitate efficient doctor-patient matching.
Drawing on trust theory and social distance theory, we develop an empirical model incorporating professional signals, follower community engagement, and sentiment intensity. Using text data and topic modeling from a leading online health platform, we analyze the impact of these factors on patient consultation behavior.
The findings demonstrate that professional experience significantly increases consultation purchases, partially mediated by active follower communities. Additionally, positive emotional expressions in biographies reduce perceived social distance, thereby strengthening trust and willingness to consult. These results highlight the combined effectiveness of professional signals and emotional cues in fostering patient trust.
Strategically designed doctor profiles, integrating professional and emotional elements, can bridge the digital divide in online healthcare by enhancing trust and improving doctor-patient matching. This study advances the understanding of how online biographical narratives shape trust and decision-making, offering novel insights into the interplay of doctor-generated content, trust, and social distance.
在线医疗为减少医疗服务获取方面的地区差异提供了有效的解决方案。然而，在虚拟环境中建立患者信任，尤其是在面临数字鸿沟挑战的情况下，对于医疗平台的可持续发展仍然至关重要。本研究调查医生通过在线传记传达的专业经验如何影响患者的咨询决策，旨在揭示增强信任并促进高效医患匹配的策略。
借鉴信任理论和社会距离理论，我们开发了一个实证模型，纳入专业信号、关注者社区参与度和情感强度。利用来自领先在线健康平台的文本数据和主题建模，我们分析这些因素对患者咨询行为的影响。
研究结果表明，专业经验显著增加咨询购买量，活跃的关注者社区起到部分中介作用。此外，传记中的积极情感表达减少了感知到的社会距离，从而增强了信任和咨询意愿。这些结果凸显了专业信号和情感线索在培养患者信任方面的综合效果。
精心设计的医生简介，融合专业和情感元素，可以通过增强信任和改善医患匹配来弥合在线医疗中的数字鸿沟。本研究推进了对在线传记叙事如何塑造信任和决策的理解，为医生生成的内容、信任和社会距离之间的相互作用提供了新的见解。
