BACKGROUND
With the rapid development of the internet, hospital public platform (HPP) has been designed for the use in top state-owned public hospitals since 2009 to provide patients with appointment registrations, test result inquiry, online payment, online consultation and other services. This study was conducted to measure continued adoption and to identify factors that influence patients’ continued adoption of HPP.
OBJECTIVE
This study was conducted to measure continued adoption and to identify factors that influence patients’ continued adoption of HPP.
METHODS
Expectancy Confirmation Theory (ECM-ISC) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used to assess the users’ continued adoption of HPP. A questionnaire was distributed to patients in Beijing Friendship Hospital, which measured constructs, including perceived usefulness, expectation confirmation, satisfaction, continuance intention, subject norm, perceived behavior control and adoption behavior. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to test the theoretical model.
RESULTS
The expectation confirmation significantly affected perceived usefulness, and satisfaction significantly affected continuance intention, while perceived usefulness had no significant effect on satisfaction and continuance intention. The subjective norm and perceived behavior control had significant influence on continuance intention. Perceived trust significantly affected satisfaction and continuance intention. The expectation confirmation had no significant impact on satisfaction, but it could affect satisfaction indirectly through perceived trust. Habit had a significant influence on adoption behavior and had a significant moderate effect between continuance intention and adoption behavior.
CONCLUSIONS
The findings of this study provide an applied guideline for the successful application of e-health systems in public hospitals in cities. It also creates an opportunity for e-health service providers to have a better understanding of their patients, which may have far-reaching and positive implications for China’s ongoing reforms.