Assessing Helicobacter Pylori Diagnosis and Treatment Quality of direct-to Consumer Telemedicine in Mainland China: a Cross-sectional Study Using Unannounced Standardised Patients

Direct-to-consumer telemedicine (DTCT) refers to a model in which doctors provide medical advice and services directly to patients through the Internet and communication technologies. Under the background of globalization and information age, DTCT, as an innovative medical service model, is gradually changing the traditional face of the medical industry. Especially in today's highly developed information and network, telemedicine service has become an important way to improve the accessibility of medical services, reduce medical costs, and optimize the allocation of medical resources. In China, with the in-depth implementation of the Healthy China strategy, DTCT is regarded as a key link to deepen medical reform and build a new medical service system. In 2018, the Chinese government began to introduce a series of DTCT policy measures to promote the development of telemedicine. By June 2022, China has approved and set up more than 1,700 Internet hospitals, initially forming an integrated online and offline medical services2. As of February 2024, China's National Health Commission has approved the establishment of more than 2,700 Internet hospitals across the country. In addition to the Internet hospitals dominated by physical hospitals, the enterprise-led Internet medical consulting platform has also gradually flourished and gradually occupied a large market share.

The speed of development of DTCT is encouraging, but the quality of care in DTCT is more uncertain. In 2024, a Chinese study published was the first to evaluate multi-disease online diagnosis and treatment services offered on Chinese Internet diagnosis and treatment platforms, using anonymous standardized patients. The study found that the current quality of Internet diagnosis and treatment services is not ideal: out of 170 anonymous consultations, the access success rate is only 63.5% (108/170); Of the visits successfully completed, only 49 consultations (45%) resulted in a correct diagnosis. In terms of physician adherence to the guidelines, the rate of completion of consultation and disposal was 15% and 31%, respectively.

Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection is a common gastrointestinal disease, which is closely related to the occurrence of gastritis, peptic ulcer, gastric cancer and other diseases. Globally, 43.1% of the population is infected with Helicobacter pylori. In China, the infection rate is also close to 50%. Hp infection has a huge demand for treatment, and it also faces many problems such as complicated treatment plan. Direct-to-consumer telemedicine services offer new possibilities for the treatment of Hp infection, greatly facilitating patients, especially those in remote areas and primary care facilities. However, there is uncertainty in the quality of H. pylori treatment in telemedicine services.