Description
The rapid and vibrant advancement of Web 2.0 technology has made it possible for ehealthcare platforms (a.k.a., online healthcare communities) to create convenient and favorable environments for patients to access telehealth services, especially online health consultation services. The demand for such services has been escalating in recent years, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. My thesis comprises two studies that analyze more than 200,000 online health consultation service transaction records from one of China’s largest e-healthcare platforms to investigate the relationship between online operational efficiency and patient behavior.The first study proposes a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between online operational efficiency and patient satisfaction by drawing upon the construal level theory (CLT), the expectation-confirmation theory, and the dynamic signaling theory. We present empirical evidence to demonstrate how operational efficiency during the e-health service delivery process can impact patient satisfaction, unveiling important implications for theory and seeding new research directions. We also identify moderators for this relationship.
In the second study, we provide quantitative analysis and comparison of the effect of waiting experiences on patient refund behavior in different stages of the online healthcare process, shedding light on the link between online operational efficiency and patient refund. The study showcases the usefulness of service price and dynamic quality signals in the e-healthcare context and reveals unique insights for online physicians and platforms to adopt customized healthcare operational management strategies.
| Period | 9 May 2023 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Postgraduate Seminar Series |
| Event type | Public Lecture |