Online medical communities are transforming healthcare, and a new study in Decision Sciences, a leading research journal, explores how physicians’ choices of communication medium impacts patient experience.  

The research, conducted by Sandun Perera, associate professor of Business Analytics and Operations at the University of Nevada, Reno, along with researchers from Dalian University of Technology, the University of Michigan–Flint and Lingnan University, used AI-driven data mining methods to analyze over 131,000 online consultation records and more than 7.6 million messages exchanged between physicians and patients. Their findings reveal that the medium of communication itself, not just the message, can significantly impact patient satisfaction. 

The study found that while voice messages can enhance emotional warmth in communication, their use by physicians tends to negatively impact patient experience, particularly for patients with low-risk diseases. The researchers discovered that in such cases, voice messages weaken both professional support and emotional support, leading to lower patient satisfaction.  

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