Antecedents and Consequences of Online Healthcare Community Usage: A Grounded Theory Approach

Abstract

The online healthcare community has grown rapidly in recent years. However, the antecedents and consequences of the use of online healthcare community platforms have not been systematized. Using grounded theory, this study collects first-hand data on the use of online healthcare communities through in-depth interviews and analyzes the interview data using a three-level coding approach including open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. The results showed the following. (1) Doctors, hospitals, and the online platforms themselves, along with the impact of healthcare environmental factors, affect patients using the online healthcare community. (2) The use of an online healthcare platform affects patient-related factors, such as emotional dependence and patient satisfaction, as well as factors related to doctor–patient interactions, such as the perception of healthcare quality and the doctor–patient relationship, through mediating factors, including doctor–patient communication, treatment processes, and healthcare costs. (3) Improving patients’ healthcare experience and the doctor–patient relationship may feed back into operation quality and the operating environment of the online healthcare community, thus promoting the promotion and use of an online healthcare community platform.

How the use of an online healthcare community affects the doctor-patient relationship: An empirical study in China

“…Question items and measures were drawn from earlier studies. Among these was doctor-patient communication, including five measure items, taken from Ha and Longnecker ( 13 ) and Wang et al ( 11 ). The doctor-patient relationship was measured with included five measurement items revised from Zhang et al ( 1 ).…”

“…Wang et al ( 11 ) found that doctor-patient communication includes six main sub-categories: emotional attitude, mode, adequacy, efficiency, content similarity, and communication service quality. The use of online healthcare communities has a positive impact on doctor-patient communication, as it can improve the degree of communication and patient satisfaction, as well as meeting patients’ expectations of consultation ( 11 ). Other studies have confirmed parts of these conclusions.…”

“…Studies have shown that when patients are satisfied, they perceive higher healthcare quality and an improved doctor-patient relationship ( 33 ). According to Wang et al ( 11 ), in the online healthcare community, patients can find a doctor at any time, and many patients already trust their doctor, who, through online communications, can reply to the patients in a timely fashion, increasing trust even more, ultimately improving the entire doctor-patient relationship. Trust in doctors may be associated with increased trust throughout the entire site of health care, such as a hospital, such that doctors in the hospital and some healthcare services provided by the hospital also become more trusted ( 34 ).…”

“…For their part, doctors complain of the pressures put on them due to various social and economic aspects of providing healthcare Doctor-patient communication refers to the communication and exchange that patients and their families have with healthcare personnel in healthcare institutions and online healthcare communities regarding diagnosis and treatment, services, and health, psychological, and social factors (12). Wang et al (11) found that doctor-patient communication includes six main sub-categories: emotional attitude, mode, adequacy, efficiency, content similarity, and communication service quality. The use of online healthcare communities has a positive impact on doctorpatient communication, as it can improve the degree of communication and patient satisfaction, as well as meeting patients' expectations of consultation (11).…”

“…In recent years, with the rapid development of the Internet, online healthcare communities have gained attention. These communities, which have patients or potential patients as their main service objects, provide health information, online consultations, healthcare consultations, and other services, providing channels for doctor-patient interactions through online community platforms ( 11 ). By examining the role that online healthcare communities play in the doctor-patient relationship, this study conducts a novel exploration of how the use of online healthcare communities by patients affects the doctor-patient relationship.…”