Use of Expectation Disconfirmation Theory to Test Patient Satisfaction with Asynchronous Telemedicine for Diabetic Retinopathy Detection

Table 1

Summary of variables included in the study.

Time	Variable	Description and role in the research model	Scale	Included in Research Model	Included in Post Hoc Analysis
Pre; (t1)	Service Quality Expectation	Forward-looking belief concerning the quality of the health service that provides a baseline value of expectations.	Likert scale of 1-5, ophthalmologist’s office to telemedicine	Yes	Yes
Pre; (t1)	Service Preference	Pre-consumption inclination for face-to-face or telemedicine service that provides a baseline value of service preference. This variable is used in the post-hoc analysis.	Likert scale of 1-5, ophthalmologist’s office to telemedicine	No	Yes
Control; (t1)	Health Insurance	Possession of health insurance, used as a control variable in the research model.	Binary scale, Yes/No (0=no, 1=yes)	Yes	No
Control; (t1)	Prior Service Experience	Prior experience (in the last five years) with ophthalmologist exams, used as a control variable in the research model	Binary scale, Yes/No; (0=no, 1=yes)	Yes	No
Post; (t2)	Service Quality Performance	Post-consumption judgment that the actual service delivered quality outcomes. This variable is used in the post-hoc analysis.	Likert scale of 1-5, ophthalmologist’s office to telemedicine	No	Yes
Post; (t2)	Service Preference	Post-consumption preference for face-to-face or telemedicine service.	Likert scale of 1-5, ophthalmologist’s office to telemedicine	Yes	Yes
Post; (t2)	Disconfirmation	The difference between pre-consumption expectation and post-consumption performance. It may be positive or negative.	Calculated difference score between Service Quality Expectation (t1) and Service Quality Performance (t2)	Yes	No
Post; (t2)	Satisfaction	A patient’s overall satisfaction with the telemedicine service.	Likert scale of 1-5, Terrible to Very good	Yes	No

a. Four of the variables were measured using a Likert scale of 1-5, ophthalmologist’s office to telemedicine, which represents a continuous scale according to the richness of medium (ophthalmologist’s office=richer medium; telemedicine=leaner medium).