Analysis of psychiatrists’ internet service patterns: a cross-sectional study from China’s largest online mental health platform

TL;DR

This study examines how psychiatrists in China use an online mental health platform, revealing patterns influenced by seniority and gender.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into digital mental health service delivery patterns in China using large-scale platform data.

Findings

Senior physicians see significantly more patients and prescribe more medications than junior doctors.

Female physicians have lower representation in senior titles despite similar gender-title associations.

Text and image consultations dominate online mental health services on the platform.

Abstract

Haoxinqing, China’s largest online mental health platform, facilitates digital psychological care delivery. This study aims to describe the demographics and medical service data of doctors on the Haoxinqing platform and investigate their associations.

The study analyzed the demographic information and medical service data of 11,333 registered physician users on the Haoxinqing platform over a 5-year period.

Among registered physicians, 87.0% were from secondary or tertiary hospitals and were concentrated in eastern provinces (e.g., Guangdong: 918). Female physicians had a lower proportion in senior titles (chief physicians: 19.0% vs. 20.0% for males), although the chi-square analysis indicated a weak association between gender and professional title (Cramer’s V = 0.051, P < 0.001). Text and image consultations dominate (82.1%). Professional titles significantly impacted service volume: chief physicians had 3.85 times more patients (IRR = 3.85, 95% CI [2.11–7.00]) and prescribed 4.16 times more medications (IRR = 4.16, 95% CI [3.21–5.41]) than residents (P < 0.001). Negative binomial regression showed that male physicians had 30% fewer patients than females (IRR = 0.70, 95% CI [0.58–0.85], P < 0.001), but the effect size for the association between gender and consultation methods was low (Cramer’s V = 0.036).

Based on cross-sectional data from China’s largest online mental health platform, this study revealed that online services, while supplementing offline medical care, are still influenced by traditional medical hierarchy. Patients’ trust in senior physicians and gendered communication norms are critical determinants affecting resource allocation patterns on digital platforms.

Figures