Standard Accent vs. Local Accent: Exploring the Role of Doctors' Accent Characteristics in Online Medical Services

Due to the diversity of global languages and the influence of local practices and individual histories, it is common and controllable for individuals to speak with accents. With the emergence of online medical consultations as a new service model and the diversity of accents, doctors on digital platforms can choose to communicate using standard or nonstandard (local) accents. However, we lack a thorough understanding of how a doctor's accent characteristics influence patient satisfaction in online medical scenarios. In the context of China's online medical services, this study investigates how accent standardness and similarity influence patient satisfaction in online medical scenarios with information asymmetry. Through two complementary experiments, we first examine how accent standardness interacts with professional capital to influence patient satisfaction through perceived competence (Study 1), and then validate Study 1's findings in different experimental scenarios while exploring how accent similarity interacts with hometown information disclosure to influence patient satisfaction through perceived warmth (Study 2). we find that accent standardness is more important, yielding higher patient satisfaction. It positively impacts patient satisfaction and compliance intention, mediated by perceived competence and moderated by professional capital. Local accent similarity also positively influences patient satisfaction, mediated by perceived warmth and enhanced by patient hometown information disclosure. These findings provide valuable insights for effective online medical communication in this evolving healthcare landscape.