Changes in Doctor–Patient Relationships in China during COVID-19: A Text Mining Analysis

Abstract

Doctor–patient relationships (DPRs) in China have been straining. With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationships and interactions between patients and doctors are changing. This study investigated how patients’ attitudes toward physicians changed during the pandemic and what factors were associated with these changes, leading to insights for improving management in the healthcare sector. This paper collected 58,600 comments regarding Chinese doctors from three regions from the online health platform Good Doctors Online (haodf.com, accessed on 13 October 2022). These comments were analyzed using text mining techniques, such as sentiment and word frequency analyses. The results showed improvements in DPRs after the pandemic, and the degree of improvement was related to the extent to which a location was affected. The findings also suggest that administrative services in the healthcare sector need further improvement. Based on these results, we summarize relevant recommendations at the end of this paper.

Despite negative perceptions of clinical trial conduct during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, are decentralized clinical trial methods here to stay?

“…use (14). However, in a study of patient online reviews from three Chinese hospitals, it was found that fewer complaints were made against doctors and facilities during the pandemic, a possible result of patient empathy towards the hardships endured by medical personnel and appreciation for their continued services (15).…”

Impact Analysis of COVID-19 Pandemic on Hospital Reviews on Dianping Website in Shanghai, China: Empirical Study

“…Positive media coverage of healthcare workers, the adoption of telemedicine, and supportive healthcare policies had a significant and positive impact on the physician-patient relationship during the pandemic. [6,[31][32][33] Physicians have perceived an increased level of trust from patients in their clinical practice compared to the past. For instance, patients voluntarily turn their heads away when sneezing and display greater respect towards doctors during conversations.…”

“…Against this backdrop, the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the complexity of this issue. [6] The outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), causing COVID-19, has been an unprecedented event affecting all sectors of society, particularly the healthcare sector. The spread of the pandemic has resulted in a strained allocation of medical resources, potentially leading to shortages in certain healthcare services.…”

Insights Into the Relationships Between Health Communication and Doctor-patient Relationship: A Scientometric Analysis Based on CiteSpace and Validation of Questionnaires

“…The study was approved by the ethics committee of Changzhou Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital (No.2022 [22]), and informed consents were obtained from all participants on net before the survey.…”

“… 21 Studies have shown that after the outbreak of COVID-19, patients’ attitudes and tolerance toward doctors or hospitals have been improved. 22 And during the COVID-19 blockade in China, social media (especially the Wechat public platform) is considered to be the most popular platform for disseminating health knowledge. 8 Therefore, this study also conducted a quantitative analysis of a questionnaire survey in China.…”