Association Between Physician Communication Features and Patient Outcomes in Telemedicine: Retrospective...

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Services Research
• Telemedicine Communication

Background:

• Asynchronous telemedicine communication effectiveness is poorly understood, hindering physician engagement and quality indicator development.
• Previous research relied on subjective surveys or small-scale simulations, lacking objective outcome linkage.
• Understanding communication features is vital for optimizing patient experience in multichannel healthcare.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the association between physician communication features and patient repurchase behavior and review scores.
• To leverage a large-scale, real-world dataset for objective analysis of telemedicine communication.
• To bridge the gap between communication features and measurable patient outcomes in healthcare.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cross-sectional study of 304,337 virtual visits and 823,135 physician responses (2021-2023).
• Analysis of physician response modality, length, and sequence as key exposures.
• Patient loyalty (follow-up visits) and satisfaction (review scores) as primary outcomes, analyzed using regression models.

Main Results:

• Audio-only visits showed the lowest patient follow-up rates (-30.9% reduction).
• Audio messages increased patient review likelihood but did not affect scores.
• Hybrid text and audio responses, particularly quick audio followed by text, were associated with higher patient loyalty.

Conclusions:

• Physician communication practices significantly influence patient loyalty and satisfaction in telemedicine.
• This study offers a data-driven approach to guide telemedicine service design, balancing human connection with clarity.
• Findings provide evidence for clinicians and policymakers to enhance telemedicine quality indicators.