Abstract:

As in many areas, important developments have been recorded in the field of health services with the effect of developments in technology. One of these developments has been in the methods of making physician appointments. Traditionally, physician appointments were taken by calling the health institution by phone or by applying to the health institution in person, but today, in addition to these methods, Internet based appointment systems are also actively used. Internet based appointment systems have important benefits for both patients and healthcare institutions. However, the use of these systems may vary depending on individual characteristics. In this context, in this study, it was aimed to examine the effect on making a physician appointment on the Internet of socio-demographic characteristics of 19389 individuals (gender, age, education, monthly household income, region of residence, working status and frequency of Internet use) who participated in the Survey on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Usage in Households conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TSI). It was determined that 33.4% of the participants used the Internet to make an appointment with a physician. In this study, it was determined that the variables of age, income, education level, region of residence, working status and frequency of Internet use had a statistically significant effect on the behavior of making physician appointments on the Internet. It was found that there was no statistically significant effect of gender. In this direction, considering individual characteristics, various interventions are needed so that internet-based appointment systems can be used widely by society and individuals.

Keywords: