Service provision, pricing, and patient satisfaction in online health communities.

Background The emergence of online health communities (OHCs) broadens and diversifies channels for patient-doctor interaction. In recent times, patient satisfaction has gained new attention within the context of OHCs where unique patterns are provided: a variety of services with unique attributes are available in OHCs for patients and doctors have the options of providing and pricing for different services. OHCs are given high hopes on improving medical efficiency and patient satisfaction. Knowing how these patterns in OHCs affect patient satisfaction is crucial for the development of OHCs and medical practices.

METHODS: An empirical research is conducted to examine the effects of provision and pricing of online services on patient satisfaction by analyzing data from 2309 doctors in a Chinese OHC.

RESULTS: The results from this study provided empirical support, suggesting that service quantity positively influenced patient satisfaction. A non-linear correlation between service price and satisfaction was explored and results suggested an inverted U-shaped relationship. At the low price level, service price led to an increase in patient satisfaction, whereas the high price level (over 330 CNY/US$49) could have just the opposite effect. Importantly, we found that price difference between a doctor's different services significantly decreased patient satisfaction. A mediating effect was tested in post-hoc analyses, and results revealed that the impact of price difference on patient satisfaction was partially mediated by flexibility of service selection, and the mediating effect accounted for 28.6% of the total effect.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that patient satisfaction can be improved by effectively providing and pricing services in OHCs. Specifically, doctors can offer different type services and charge within a reasonable range.