The Impact of Internet Use on Patients’ Health-seeking Behavior and Health Expenditure: an Empirical Study Based on CFPS Data

Abstract Background: The issue of “limited access to healthcare services and high health expenditure” has consistently been a common phenomenon in Chinese society. Therefore, guiding residents to choose appropriate healthcare institutions and controlling the rapidly increasing health expenditures have become extremely challenges for the Chinese government. The objective of this study was to explore the impact of internet use on health-seeking behavior and health expenditure. Methods: The data for this study were derived from the 2018 survey of China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), which included 18,233 valid samples.Logistic regression analysis and linear regression analysis were conducted to estimate the influence of internet use on health-seeking behavior and health expenditure. Results: Participants who used the internet to access information were approximately 1.20 times (95% CI, 1.10-1.32; P <0.001) more likely to choose general/specialized hospitals compared to those who did not use the internet for information access. Internet use significantly contributed to reducing health expenditure ( P <0.05) Conclusions: Internet use exacerbated the likelihood of participants visiting to higher-level healthcare institutions for seeking health treatment, which will be detrimental to the implementation of hierarchical diagnosis and treatment. Moreover, internet use has played an important role in reducing health expenditure, which was in line with the government’s expectations. These findings of this study were valuable for informing government’ internet policies aimed at guiding patients in selecting appropriate healthcare institutions and reducing health expenditure.