Teleconsultation management in healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic: The impact of Perceived Justice on satisfaction and Word-Of-Mouth

Abstract

Following the restrictions on movement imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the greater demands placed on physicians and many healthcare infrastructures, a large number of health teleconsultation platforms have emerged around the world. The aim of this paper is to obtain a better understanding of the acceptance of teleconsultation platforms by patients. To this end, a survey of 1273 patients was carried out using a teleconsultation platform during the pandemic period in France (from 9 July to 29 October 2020). The questionnaire mobilized existing scales to measure Satisfaction, Perceived Justice and, finally, the intention to disseminate by Word-Of-Mouth (WOM). Data were analysed using a Partial Least Squares approach. The study confirms the impact of Distributive, Informational and Procedural Justice on Satisfaction and the impact of Distributive and Informational Justice on WOM. The findings emphasize the influence of Satisfaction on WOM. The results detect a mediating effect of Satisfaction on WOM and moderating effects of gender, age and long-standing use. This research contributes to both theoretical and practical COVID-19 research and may be used by healthcare professionals to develop teleconsultation services, one of the means of supporting interaction and satisfying patients’ treatment requirements during the pandemic.