The Effects of Log-in Behaviors and Web Reviews on Patient Consultation in Online Health Communities: Longitudinal Study

Background: With the rapid development of information technology and web-based communities, a growing number of patients choose to consult physicians in online health communities (OHCs) for information and treatment. Although extant research has primarily discussed factors that influence the consulting choices of OHC patients, there is still a lack of research on the effects of log-in behaviors and web reviews on patient consultation. Objective: This study aims to explore the impact of physicians' log-in behavior and web reviews on patient consultation. Methods: We conducted a longitudinal study to examine the effects of physicians' log-in behaviors and web reviews on patient consultation by analyzing short-panel data from 911 physicians over five periods in a Chinese OHC. Results: The results showed that the physician's log-in behavior had a positive effect on patient consultation. The maximum number of days with no log-ins for a physician should be 20. The two web signals (log-in behavior and web reviews) had no complementary relationship. Moreover, the offline signal (ie, offline status) has different moderating effects on the two web signals, positively moderating the relationship between web reviews and patient consultation. Conclusions: Our study contributes to the eHealth literature and advances the understanding of physicians'web-based behaviors. This study also provides practical implications, showing that physicians' log-in behavior alone can affect patient consultation rather than complementing web reviews.