The impact of knowledge incompatibility and communication style differences on patients’ perceived value of online medical consultations

This study examines the reasons why patients are not getting expected value from online medical consultations. It analyzes the influencing mechanism of mismatch between the knowledge base and communication style of patients and physicians on patients’ perceived value. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 452 Chinese patients who had engaged in online interactions with physicians. Findings suggest that knowledge incompatibility and task-oriented communication style differences negatively affect patients’ perceived value by reducing patients’ evaluation of physician contribution behavior. Task analyzability plays a moderating role. The findings contribute to the value co-destruction theory and offer implications for enhancing online medical services.