Determinants of physicians’ online medical services uptake: a cross-sectional study applying social ecosystem theory

Abstract

Objective To investigate the determinants of willingness and practice of physicians’ online medical services (OMS) uptake based on social ecosystem theory, so as to formulate OMS development strategies. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting Research was conducted in two comprehensive hospitals and two community hospitals in Jiangsu, China, and the data were gathered from 1 June to 31 June 2020. Participants With multistage sampling, 707 physicians were enrolled in this study. Outcome measure Descriptive statistics were reported for the basic characteristics. χ² test, Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman’s correlation analysis were used to perform univariate analysis. Linear regression and logistic regression were employed to examine the determinants of physicians’ OMS uptake willingness and actual uptake, respectively. Results The mean score of the physicians’ OMS uptake willingness was 17.33 (range 5–25), with an SD of 4.39, and 53.3% of them reported having conducted OMS. In the micro system, factors positively associated with willingness included holding administrative positions (b=1.03, pConclusion Multiple determinants influence physicians’ OMS application. Comprehensive OMS promotion strategies should be put forward from multidimensional perspectives including the micro, meso and macro levels.