The predation relationship between online medical search and online medical consultation-empirical research based on Baidu platform data.

Introduction: This study investigates the mutual influence between online medical search and online medical consultation. It focuses on understanding the health information needs that drive these health information-seeking behaviors by utilizing insights from behavioral big data.

Methods: We used actual behavioral data from Chinese internet users on Baidu platform's "Epidemic Index" from November 26, 2022, to January 25, 2023.