Online health anxiety and consultation satisfaction: A quantitative exploratory study on their relations

- Health anxiety is positively related to seeking online health information.
- Health anxiety is negatively related to satisfaction with doctor consultation.
- Seeking online information is negatively related to satisfaction with doctor consultation.
- The relation between online information and satisfaction is partly moderated by health anxiety.
- Doctors should be aware of the impact of health anxiety during the consultation.

ObjectiveThe present study explores how seeking online information may affect satisfaction with the doctor consultation and what role health anxiety plays in this context.MethodsA survey was conducted asking patients in doctors' offices about their online seeking for health information and measuring health anxiety prior to the consultation, and their satisfaction with the consultation afterwards (N =  239).ResultsResults showed that health anxiety is positively related to seeking online health information and that health anxious people are less satisfied with the doctor consultation. Furthermore, people searching more extensively appreciated the duration of their physician's consultation less, but only if they were relatively health anxious.ConclusionsThe internet has significantly changed how patients can prepare themselves prior to the doctor consultation. This may have a negative effect on the satisfaction with the consultation, especially for people that are health anxious.Practical implicationsDoctors should be aware that online health information seeking affects the satisfaction with the consultation, especially for health anxious individuals.