Factors Influencing the Use of Digital Marketing by Telemedicine Services

Abstract

AbstractDigital Marketing has offered additional existence to Telemedicine Services as well as health care services by improving their visibility in the virtual frame. Digital Marketing has offered unbelievable opportunities in the present decade. The concept of e-health service, e-patient, e-health, e-healthcare providers are more than familiar to individuals. In the matter-of-fact telemedicine has enhanced substantially, reaching over a percentage of 30% comparing the conventional medicine. The need to use telemedicine in times of pandemics, natural disasters, earthquakes and even war is also deemed imperative. For instance, during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, the health system has changed radically as result of digitization processes and produced not only innovative products, but also new service practices and business models, replacing conventional structures. The quality of digital services and the customers’ satisfaction, e-patience’s, in our case, are the most principal parameters for digital marketing. Also, important elements for digital marketing are the willingness of customers to recommend telemedicine services to family, relatives, friends, colleagues, on social media, the addition for future use of the services, etc. The factors included in this research were the result of an extensive review of the international literature. This process resulted in a conceptual framework consisting of 9 factors (e.g. Perceived innovation (Compatibility), Willingness to recommend (Advocacy), Perceived Credibility, Perceived Risk, Use Intention, Risk Acceptance, Information Sharing, Perceived Risk, Perceived Usefulness). Tο test the research hypotheses, a survey was conducted on 412 participants. The results confirmed the proposed model. Digital marketers can use the above model to design and organize digital healthcare services for the benefit of the e-patient.