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<p>The accessibility and quality of healthcare services have always been a global focus. To improve medical service efficiency and bridge the gap between supply and demand in healthcare, the application of artificial intelligence in the medical field has gained increasing attention, with virtual doctors being a typical application. Virtual doctors can provide intelligent diagnostic services to patients through human-computer interaction, but their design characteristics may affect patients’ perceptions and willingness to use, thereby influencing doctor-patient interactions and service effectiveness. Existing literature has focused on the impact of single characteristics, with less consideration of the integrated influence of multiple characteristics and internal mechanisms. Based on para-social interaction theory, this study explores the influence of multiple characteristics of virtual doctors (appearance attraction, anthropomorphism) on patients’ perceptions (para-social interaction, trust), and their further impact on patient satisfaction and intention to use online inquiry services. The study collected 507 valid sample data through an online questionnaire survey and used structural equation modeling for empirical testing. The findings show that the appearance attraction and anthropomorphism characteristics of virtual doctors positively influence patient satisfaction and intention to use online inquiry services by enhancing para-social interaction; appearance attraction positively influences patient satisfaction and intention to use online inquiry services by enhancing trust; anthropomorphism characteristics have no significant association with trust; patient satisfaction mediates the relationship between para-social interaction, trust, and intention to use online inquiry services. This study enriches the theory of virtual doctors’ influence on patients’ perceptions and behaviors, emphasizes the importance of para-social interaction in shaping doctor-patient relationships, and provides new perspectives and practical guidance for optimizing virtual doctor design and improving smart healthcare service quality. The research results have positive significance for promoting the application of artificial intelligence in healthcare services, improving the usage rate and satisfaction of virtual doctors, and contributing to the high-quality development of smart healthcare.</p>

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Warm like human doctors? Research on factors influencing patients’ intention to use online inquiry services with virtual doctors on digital medical platforms

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月7日

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  • Silian Li

摘要

The accessibility and quality of healthcare services have always been a global focus. To improve medical service efficiency and bridge the gap between supply and demand in healthcare, the application of artificial intelligence in the medical field has gained increasing attention, with virtual doctors being a typical application. Virtual doctors can provide intelligent diagnostic services to patients through human-computer interaction, but their design characteristics may affect patients’ perceptions and willingness to use, thereby influencing doctor-patient interactions and service effectiveness. Existing literature has focused on the impact of single characteristics, with less consideration of the integrated influence of multiple characteristics and internal mechanisms. Based on para-social interaction theory, this study explores the influence of multiple characteristics of virtual doctors (appearance attraction, anthropomorphism) on patients’ perceptions (para-social interaction, trust), and their further impact on patient satisfaction and intention to use online inquiry services. The study collected 507 valid sample data through an online questionnaire survey and used structural equation modeling for empirical testing. The findings show that the appearance attraction and anthropomorphism characteristics of virtual doctors positively influence patient satisfaction and intention to use online inquiry services by enhancing para-social interaction; appearance attraction positively influences patient satisfaction and intention to use online inquiry services by enhancing trust; anthropomorphism characteristics have no significant association with trust; patient satisfaction mediates the relationship between para-social interaction, trust, and intention to use online inquiry services. This study enriches the theory of virtual doctors’ influence on patients’ perceptions and behaviors, emphasizes the importance of para-social interaction in shaping doctor-patient relationships, and provides new perspectives and practical guidance for optimizing virtual doctor design and improving smart healthcare service quality. The research results have positive significance for promoting the application of artificial intelligence in healthcare services, improving the usage rate and satisfaction of virtual doctors, and contributing to the high-quality development of smart healthcare.