Too good to be true? The impact of distinction badges on patient satisfaction with online healthcare services

Online healthcare services are increasingly recognized as a crucial element in the innovation of medical service delivery. However, these services are still in a nascent stage. The supply of doctors’ services is crucial for the survival and development of online healthcare platforms. Especially, how to motivate the service supply of doctors effectively has always been a challenge faced by online healthcare platforms. Gamification, such as distinction badges, is touted as a potential remedy for these issues. Despite the widespread implementation of distinction badges in healthcare management to motivate doctors’ behavior, their effects on patient satisfaction are not yet well-established. To explore these questions, we formulated four hypotheses based on the expectation confirmation theory and tested them through an econometric analysis and a controlled laboratory experiment. Our research revealed that distinction badges did not enhance patient satisfaction; instead, they led to a decrease. Our empirical findings suggest that doctors with high-ranking titles and those from key hospitals experienced a less negative impact from distinction badges. Conversely, doctors without such titles and from non-key hospitals faced a more pronounced negative effect. Additionally, the adverse impact of distinction badges was more significant for doctors who were more active contributors online. Our study not only contributes to the literature on decision-making for online healthcare services and gamification but also offers valuable practical recommendations for gamification designers and platform decision-makers seeking to improve patient satisfaction. © 2025 The Authors.