Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Jul 5;17(1):97.
doi: 10.1186/s12911-017-0482-9.

Electronic Health Record Portal Adoption: a cross country analysis

Jorge Tavares  1 , Tiago Oliveira  2
Affiliations

Electronic Health Record Portal Adoption: a cross country analysis

Jorge Tavares et al. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. .

Abstract

Background: This study's goal is to understand the factors that drive individuals to adopt Electronic Health Record (EHR) portals and to estimate if there are differences between countries with different healthcare models.

Methods: We applied a new adoption model using as a starting point the extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) by incorporating the Concern for Information Privacy (CFIP) framework. To evaluate the research model we used the partial least squares (PLS) - structural equation modelling (SEM) approach. An online questionnaire was administrated in the United States (US) and Europe (Portugal). We collected 597 valid responses.

Results: The statistically significant factors of behavioural intention are performance expectancy ([Formula: see text] total = 0.285; P < 0.01), effort expectancy ([Formula: see text] total = 0.160; P < 0.01), social influence ([Formula: see text] total = 0.198; P < 0.01), hedonic motivation ([Formula: see text] total = -0.141; P < 0.01), price value ([Formula: see text] total = 0.152; P < 0.01), and habit ([Formula: see text] total = 0.255; P < 0.01). The predictors of use behaviour are habit ([Formula: see text] total = 0.145; P < 0.01), and behavioural intention ([Formula: see text] total = 0.480; P < 0.01). Social influence, hedonic motivation, and price value are only predictors in the US group. The model explained 53% of the variance in behavioural intention and 36% of the variance in use behaviour.

Conclusions: Our study identified critical factors for the adoption of EHR portals and significant differences between the countries. Confidentiality issues do not seem to influence acceptance. The EHR portals usage patterns are significantly higher in US compared to Portugal.

Keywords: Electronic Health Records; Healthcare consumers; Technology adoption; UTAUT2; eHealth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The research model
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Structural model results for US
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Structural model results for Portugal
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tavares J, Oliveira T. Electronic Health Record Portals Definition and Usage. In: Maria Manuela C-C, Isabel Maria M, Ricardo M, Rui R, editors. Encyclopedia of E-Health and Telemedicine. Hershey: IGI Global; 2016. p. 555–62.
    1. Ancker JS, Barron Y, Rockoff ML, Hauser D, Pichardo M, Szerencsy A, Calman N. Use of an Electronic Patient Portal Among Disadvantaged Populations. J Gen Intern Med. 2011;26(10):1117–1123. doi: 10.1007/s11606-011-1749-y. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tavares J, Oliveira T. Electronic Health Record Patient Portal Adoption by Health Care Consumers: An Acceptance Model and Survey. J Med Internet Res. 2016;18(3):e49. doi: 10.2196/jmir.5069. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tavares J, Oliveira T. E-health Web based technologies patient adoption. Rev Saude Publica. 2014;48(n.esp):25.
    1. Angst CM, Agarwal R. Adoption of electronic health records in the presence of privacy concerns: The elaboration likelihood model and Individual Persuasion. MIS Q. 2009;33(2):339–370.

LinkOut - more resources