Validity of patients' online reviews at direct-to-consumer teleconsultation platforms: a protocol for a cross-sectional study using unannounced standardised patients
Wenjun He,
Yiyuan Cai,
Wenjie Gong,
Changchang Li,
Qing Zhao,
Dong Xu,
Zhang Zhang,
Huanyuan Luo,
Jiaqi Li,
Siyuan Liu,
Sensen lv,
Yutong Wang,
Wenping Hu,
Yunyun Xie,
Yuting Wan,
Dongmei Zhong,
Lanping Zhang,
Chunping Li,
Xiaoshan Chen,
Wangqing Huang
Affiliations
Wenjun He
School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
Yiyuan Cai
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China
Wenjie Gong
HER Team and Department of Maternal and Child Health, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China
Changchang Li
Dermatology Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
Qing Zhao
Acacia Lab for Implementation Science, School of Health Management and Dermatology Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Dong Xu
Acacia Lab for Implementation Science, School of Health Management and Dermatology Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Zhang Zhang
Gillings School of Global Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Huanyuan Luo
Dermatology Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
Jiaqi Li
School of Health Management, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Siyuan Liu
School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
Sensen lv
School of Health Management, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Yutong Wang
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Xi`an Jiaotong University, Xi`an, Shaanxi, China
Wenping Hu
Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
Yunyun Xie
School of Health Management, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Yuting Wan
School of Health Management, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Dongmei Zhong
School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
Lanping Zhang
School of Health Management, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Chunping Li
School of Health Management, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Xiaoshan Chen
School of Health Management, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Wangqing Huang
School of Health Management, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Introduction As direct-to-consumer teleconsultation (hereafter referred to as ‘teleconsultation’) has gained popularity, an increasing number of patients have been leaving online reviews of their teleconsultation experiences. These reviews can help guide patients in identifying doctors for teleconsultation. However, few studies have examined the validity of online reviews in assessing the quality of teleconsultation against a gold standard. Therefore, we aim to use unannounced standardised patients (USPs) to validate online reviews in assessing both the technical and patient-centred quality of teleconsultations. We hypothesise that online review results will be more consistent with the patient-centred quality, rather than the technical quality, as assessed by the USPs.Methods and analysis In this cross-sectional study, USPs representing 11 common primary care conditions will randomly visit 253 physicians via the three largest teleconsultation platforms in China. Each physician will receive a text-based and a voice/video-based USP visit, resulting in a total of 506 USP visits. The USP will complete a quality checklist to assess the proportion of clinical practice guideline-recommended items during teleconsultation. After each visit, the USP will also complete the Patient Perception of Patient-Centeredness Rating. The USP-assessed results will be compared with online review results using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). If ICC >0.4 (p<0.05), we will assume reasonable concordance between the USP-assessed quality and online reviews. Furthermore, we will use correlation analysis, Lin’s Coordinated Correlation Coefficient and Kappa as supplementary analyses.Ethics and dissemination This study has received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Southern Medical University (#Southern Medical Audit (2022) No. 013). Results will be actively disseminated through print and social media, and USP tools will be made available for other researchers.Trial registration The study has been registered at the China Clinical Trials Registry (ChiCTR2200062975).
