{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,29]],"date-time":"2026-06-29T04:22:56Z","timestamp":1782706976335,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,19]],"date-time":"2023-12-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1702944000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"the Key-Area Research and Development Program of Guangdong Province","award":["No. 2020B0101130020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["No. 2020B0101130020"]}]},{"name":"the Key-Area Research and Development Program of Guangdong Province","award":["No. 2020B0101130020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["No. 2020B0101130020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n               <jats:p>The burden of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continues to increase in developing countries like China, but the access to STI care is often limited. The emergence of direct-to-consumer (DTC) telemedicine offers unique opportunities for patients to directly access health services when needed. However, the quality of STI care provided by telemedicine platforms remains unknown. After systemically identifying the universe of DTC telemedicine platforms providing on-demand consultations in China in 2019, we evaluated their quality using the method of unannounced standardized patients (SPs). SPs presented routine cases of syphilis and herpes. Of the 110 SP visits conducted, physicians made a correct diagnosis in 44.5% (95% CI: 35.1% to 54.0%) of SP visits, and correctly managed 10.9% (95% CI: 5.0% to 16.8%). Low rates of correct management were primarily attributable to the failure of physicians to refer patients for STI testing. Controlling for other factors, videoconference (vs SMS-based) consultation mode and the availability of public physician ratings were associated with higher-quality care. Our findings suggest a need for further research on the causal determinants of care quality on DTC telemedicine platforms and effective policy approaches to promote their potential to expand access to STI care in developing countries while limiting potential unintended consequences for patients.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/heapol\/czad119","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,19]],"date-time":"2023-12-19T20:02:10Z","timestamp":1703016130000},"page":"307-317","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["The quality of telemedicine consultations for sexually transmitted infections in China"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"39","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9334-8230","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yafei","family":"Si","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for International Studies on Development and Governance, Zhejiang University , No. 688 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China"},{"name":"School of Risk & Actuarial Studies and CEPAR, The University of New South Wales , 223 Anzac Parade, Kensington, NSW 2033, Australia"},{"name":"Global Health Research Center, Duke Kunshan University , No. 8 Duke Avenue Kunshan, Jiangsu 215316, China"},{"name":"University of North Carolina Project-China , No313 Huanshizhong Road Guangzhou, Guangdong 510000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hao","family":"Xue","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Stanford Center for China\u2019s Institutions and Economy, Stanford University , 616 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA 94305, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Huipeng","family":"Liao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of North Carolina Project-China , No313 Huanshizhong Road Guangzhou, Guangdong 510000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yewei","family":"Xie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of North Carolina Project-China , No313 Huanshizhong Road Guangzhou, Guangdong 510000, China"},{"name":"Programme for Health Services & Systems Research, Duke-NUS Medical School , 8 College Road, Singapore 169857, Singapore"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dong (Roman)","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for World Health Organization Studies and Department of Health Management, School of Health Management of Southern Medical University , 1023 South Shatai Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510515, China"},{"name":"Acacia Labs, SMU Institute for Global Health (SIGHT), Dermatology Hospital of Southern Medical University (SMU) , 1023 South Shatai Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510515, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M Kumi","family":"Smith","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota Twin Cities , 1300 South 2nd Street, 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