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Internet usage and patient's trust in physician during diagnoses: A knowledge power perspective
Author(s) -
Lu Tian,
Xu Yunjie Calvin,
Wallace Scott
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of the association for information science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.903
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 2330-1643
pISSN - 2330-1635
DOI - 10.1002/asi.23920
Subject(s) - perspective (graphical) , the internet , medical diagnosis , affect (linguistics) , perception , psychology , disease , explanatory power , family medicine , quality (philosophy) , medicine , power (physics) , computer science , world wide web , pathology , philosophy , physics , communication , epistemology , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , neuroscience
Does patients’ Internet search of disease information affect their trust in physicians during diagnosis? This study proposes a research model from a knowledge power perspective, that is, Internet search affects patients’ perception of their knowledge level. Our empirical study of more than 400 subjects suggests that for patients who searched online for disease information, the inconsistency between their self‐diagnosis expectations and their physician's diagnosis reduces their trust in their physician. The effect is stronger for those who spent more time on Internet search. Patients with chronic conditions are less affected by the inconsistency, as are patients of physicians with a higher professional status. This study also found that physicians’ interaction quality in the diagnosis process—how well they communicate with their patient—still plays a dominant role in gaining patient's trust. This finding suggests that even in the high‐tech age, high‐touch remains an important factor to physician‐patient trust.