Patients’ perspective of digital healthcare : Social implications during a digital healthcare meeting

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the patient’s perspective regarding social interactions in video healthcare meetings. Social presence theory was used in the context of how video calls can result in vital aspects of social interactions disappearing and how that can affect the outcome of a doctor consultation in contrast to physical meetings. A qualitative method with semi-structured interviews was applied to this study. This study included 7 participants with similar age range from 26-36 years old including both genders. This study resulted in many different views and perspectives whereas some participants found it harder to communicate virtually whereas others did not think that social interactions was not even an important factor. The conclusion that could be made from this study is that virtual healthcare meetings are good depending on which context they are used for. Furthermore, the doctor cannot always get the full picture because the camera creates a psychological distance which makes it harder for the doctor to observe as much as he/she can in a physical setting which can lead to many signals and cues missing out.