Analysis of the Patients and Physicians Connection Network on an Online Health Information Platform

Abstract

Social network applications have gained popularity in the health domain as they bring health information seekers (patients and alike) and medication advice providers (physicians and other relevant actors) together. By employing a network science perspective this research is aimed to understand an information network establishing connections among and between information seekers and providers. We found that such a connection network surfaces most of the essential characteristics of a typical complex network. Furthermore a detailed structural analysis shows some intriguing relations and connection behaviours in the network. Implications of the findings are discussed from the perspectives of medical informatics and social network analysis.