When Baidu meets the clinic: exploring how cyberchondria shapes patient satisfaction through trust in doctors and patient commitment

In the digital age, cyberchondria, a pattern of excessive online health information seeking accompanied by heightened health-related distress, has emerged as a growing concern. While previous research has largely focused on its psychological effects in the general population, limited attention has been paid to how cyberchondria influences patient-provider dynamics. This study aims to examine how cyberchondria is associated with trust in doctors, patient commitment, and patient satisfaction. An online survey was conducted among 1805 Chinese patients who had recently visited hospitals for medical consultations and had searched online for information related to their illness or symptoms. Results suggested that cyberchondria was negatively associated with both trust in doctors and patient satisfaction, but positively associated with patient commitment. A significant negative indirect association was found between cyberchondria and satisfaction via trust and commitment in sequence. Conversely, cyberchondria also showed a positive indirect relationship with satisfaction through patient commitment alone. These findings highlight the need for healthcare providers to engage with patients' online health behaviors and for public health systems to promote digital literacy and trustworthy health communication strategies.