Exploring doctors' motivations for providing free and paid consultations in eHealth: a social exchange perspective

Purpose With the advent of COVID-19, online consultations have provided a channel for communication between patients and doctors in eHealth. Doctors can obtain benefits (e.g., income and status) through providing free or paid consultations to patients on online medical platforms. This study employs the social exchange theory to propose individual motivations, physician characteristics and platform characteristics that influence doctors' decisions to provide free or paid consultations. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 316 doctors in hospitals in China and were analyzed using the structural equation model. Findings According to our findings, expected rewards and expected associations influence the intention to provide paid consultations, while expected contribution influences the intention to provide free consultations. Physician professional capital strengthens the relationship between expected contribution and the intention to provide paid consultations and weakens the relationship between expected contribution and the intention to provide free consultations. Platform advantage moderates the relationship between expected contribution and the intention to provide free consultations. Originality/value Few studies have explored the motivations driving doctors to provide free and paid counseling services on online medical platforms. Both services are now widely available on online medical platforms in China. Therefore, this study aims to explore doctors' motivations for providing free and paid consultations, as well as the effects of physician and platform characteristics on these motivations.