Developing an Evaluation Index System for Service Capability of Internet Hospitals in China: Mixed Methods Study

Rapid advancements in web-based technology have significantly transformed the health care landscape. In China, internet hospitals have emerged as vital components of the health care system. This rapid growth highlights the necessity for a thorough evaluation of internet hospitals within the health care system, as they operate under models distinct from traditional health care settings.

This study aimed to identify critical indicators that reflect the service capabilities of internet hospitals and to establish a comprehensive evaluation index system for their assessment.

This study initially compiled a pool of indicators through literature review and expert consultation. The final evaluation index system was established using the Delphi method, involving 2 rounds of expert consultation, and the index weights were determined using the Analytic Hierarchy Process.

In total, 21 experts from relevant fields, such as hospital management, clinical services, and health information management, were enrolled in the consultation. After 2 rounds of Delphi consultation, the experts' positive coefficients were 95.45% and 100%, and the authoritative coefficients were both >0.7. The final evaluation index system for the service capabilities of internet hospitals contained 3 first-level indicators, 9 second-level indicators, and 29 third-level indicators. The first-level indicators were categorized into 3 dimensions: "Internet hospital infrastructure," "Internet hospital services," and "Internet hospital management." "Internet hospital infrastructure" encompasses the essential conditions for service delivery, such as hardware and software resources, human capital, information security, and payment systems. "Internet hospital services" focuses on the scope and depth of services offered, such as "online medical services," "online pharmaceutical services," and "collaborative services." Finally, "Internet hospital management" is divided into "medical administration" and "general management." Weights were assigned to each indicator using the Analytic Hierarchy Process, revealing that "Internet hospital services" held the highest importance (0.573) among 3 first-level indicators, followed by "Internet hospital infrastructure" (0.239) and "Internet hospital management" (0.188). Among the second-level indicators, "Online medical service" emerged as the most critical (0.344), followed by "Medical administration" (0.140), "Online pharmaceutical service" (0.119), "Collaboration service" (0.110), and "Information security" (0.087). Among the third-level indicators, "Online health consultation" (0.092) had the highest weight, followed by "Online chronic disease management" (0.080), "Online pharmaceutical consultation" (0.076), "Consistency between online medical service and offline medical service" (0.071), and "Medical quality management" (0.071).

This study identified and established a comprehensive evaluation index system for assessing the service capabilities of internet hospitals in China. The resulting index system not only provides a valuable tool for evaluating and improving service delivery in internet hospitals but also serves as a foundation for future studies in this rapidly evolving field.