Fidelity
comorbidity
A total of 401 dialogues were coded to assess the fidelity of web-based communication, including content (ie, practical or emotional), completeness (whether the questions were solved), timeliness (defined as whether the initial message was replied within 24 hours), and style (ie, formal language use and emoticon use; Characteristics of web-based patient-provider communication. (A) The content of the web-based conversation. (B) The completeness and timeliness of the web-based conversation reply. (C) The style of the web-based conversation (unit: dialogue).Of the 401 dialogues, 374 (93.2%) received a text-based response and the rest responded with web links. Of the 374 dialogues, 366 (97.9%) had practical content focusing on problem solving, and the primary concern in web-based conversations was the side effects of medication (114/374, 30.5%). Other topics included changes in daily life habits because of treatment (87/374, 23.3%), hospital visit arrangement (66/374, 19.4%), the influence of imperfect medication-taking behavior (36/374, 9.4%), necessary physical examinations (32/374, 8.6%), other potential treatment regimens (13/374, 3.5%), transmission prevention (10/374, 2.8%), comorbidity (4/374, 1.3%), and other undefined topics (12/374, 3.2%). A small portion (35/374, 9.4%) of the dialogues involved emotional content, that is, patients expressed negative feelings or case managers tried to cheer up patients. Regarding completeness, 94.9% (355/374) of the issues were solved directly, whereas the rest were not solved or referred to other professionals. In terms of timeliness, the majority (326/374, 87.2%) replied within 24 hours. Regarding the style of web-based conversation, formal language was used in 39.6% (148/374) of the dialogues (eg, greetings before questions, patients’ expressions of gratitude, or case managers’ expression of willingness to help). Emoticon was less common, as it was used in only 12% (45/374) of the dialogues.