Impact of Trust and Privacy Concerns on Technology Acceptance in Healthcare: An Indian Perspective

Abstract

This paper augments the technology acceptance model (TAM) by empirically investigating the influence of behavioral traits (privacy concerns and trust) and cognitive beliefs (perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use) on patients' behavioral intention to accept technology in healthcare service delivery. Despite increased emphasis on healthcare service delivery, there has been limited studies as to how various behavioral constructs are related to adoption of new technology in healthcare sector. To this end, and to develop meaningful insights, a conceptual model integrating behavioral constructs with constructs related to technology acceptance model is devised. The aim here is essentially to understand relationships that predict patients' acceptance of technology in healthcare services. The devised model is tested on responses obtained from survey of 416 patients availing healthcare service at various primary health centers in New Delhi, India. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is employed to conceptualize the model and validate nine hypotheses entailing key constructs. The results indicate that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, trust and privacy concern are direct predictors of patients' behavior to accept technology in availing healthcare services. In summary, this research provides an empirical contribution to the literature on effect of trust and privacy concerns on acceptance of technology in healthcare.