Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30848726›Full record

ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2019

The Effect of Online Effort and Reputation of Physicians on Patients' Choice: 3-Wave Data Analysis of China's Good Doctor Website.

Zhaohua Deng, Ziying Hong, Wei Zhang, Richard Evans, Yanyan Chen

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Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 50 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
50citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

50 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Zhaohua DengSmart Health Institute, School of Medicine and Health Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.ORCID 0000-0002-7744-7818
Ziying HongSmart Health Institute, School of Medicine and Health Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.ORCID 0000-0003-4160-9739
Wei ZhangSmart Health Institute, School of Medicine and Health Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.ORCID 0000-0003-0178-0750
Richard EvansCollege of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences, Brunel University, London, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-6367-0560
Yanyan ChenTongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.ORCID 0000-0002-7198-6044

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNowadays, patients are seeking physician information more frequently via the internet. Physician-rating websites (PRWs) have been recognized as the most convenient way to gain insight and detailed information about specific physicians before receiving consultation. However, little is known about how the information provided on PRWs may affect patients' decisions to seek medical advice.

objectiveThis study aimed to examine whether the physicians' online efforts and their reputation have a relationship with patients' choice of physician on PRWs.

methodsA model, based on social exchange theory, was developed to analyze the factors associated with the number of online patients. A 3-wave data collection exercise, covering 4037 physicians on China's Good Doctor website, was conducted during the months of February, April, and June 2017. Increases in consultation in a 60-day period were used as the dependent variable, whereas 2 series of data were analyzed using linear regression modeling. The fixed-effect model was used to analyze the 3-wave data.

resultsThe adjusted R

conclusionsBoth the effort and reputation of physicians online contribute to the increased number of online patients' consultation; however, the influence of a physician's reputation varies. This may imply that physicians' online effort and reputation are critical in attracting patients and that strategic manipulation of physician profiles is worthy of study. Practical insights are also discussed.

Indexed as

Data AnalysisPhysician-Patient RelationsAdultChinaFemaleHumansInternetMalePhysicianspanel data analysispatient choicesphysician effortsphysician-rating websitesphysician reputations

Identifiers

PMID30848726
PMCPMC6429049

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.