Patient's decision and experience in the multi-channel appointment context: An empirical study

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Healthcare Management
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Long outpatient waiting times negatively impact patient experience.
• Multi-channel appointment systems are increasingly used, especially for severe illnesses and remote patients.
• Efficient patient scheduling is critical for reducing wait times.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore factors influencing patient appointment channel choice.
• To determine how channel choice affects offline visiting waiting times.
• To analyze determinants of online vs. offline appointment selection.

Main Methods:

• Empirical analysis of outpatient appointment records from online and offline channels.
• Two-step analysis: channel choice impact on waiting time, then determinant impact on channel choice.
• Utilized ordinary least squares and logistic regression models.

Main Results:

• Online appointments result in significantly shorter consultation waiting times (β = -0.320, p < 0.001).
• High demand for quality resources (β = 0.349, p < 0.001), severe illness (β = 0.011, p < 0.001), and high non-disease costs (β = 0.039, p < 0.001) incentivize online booking.
• Non-disease cost influence on channel choice is lower for patients with prior visit history (β = -0.021, p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Internet use effectively reduces patient waiting times in outpatient settings.
• Patients weigh health and cost factors when selecting appointment channels.
• Findings offer insights for appointment system design and patient behavior literature.