Understanding Patient Satisfaction in Online Healthcare: A Study from Doctor-Patient Interaction Perspective
摘要
The digital transformation of healthcare has introduced online healthcare services that offer unprecedented accessibility and convenience. However, the shift to virtual doctor-patient interactions has unveiled new challenges in ensuring patient satisfaction. Prior research has primarily focused on the doctor's perspective, with scant attention given to the patient's perception of informational and emotional support within these digital interactions. Drawing the perspective from Media Synchronicity Theory, this study investigates how online healthcare interaction patterns influence patient perceived satisfaction of informational support and emotional support, and how different interaction patterns across varied media types impact these satisfaction facets. Through an empirical analysis of 7374 patient consultation records from "www.haodf.com", this study analyzes the influence of interaction pattern such as doctors' response time, interaction rounds, frequency and media synchronicity in patients' satisfaction. Research results indicate that while doctor's response time might not be the most decisive factor, other interactive factors— interaction rounds and consultation frequency positively influence patient satisfaction with both perceived informational support and emotional support, and media synchronicity positively moderates the impact of the number of interaction rounds on patient satisfaction with perceived informational support and emotional support. By introducing a patient-centric approach to understanding satisfaction in online healthcare interactions, this study highlights the importance of media synchronicity in optimizing communication and provides empirical evidence for the role of interaction patterns in shaping patient satisfaction. The findings offer insights for healthcare providers and platform designers to enhance online service delivery and patient engagement.