Predicting Internet Use: Applying the Extended Technology Acceptance Model to the Healthcare Environment

Abstract

The technology acceptance model (TAM; Davis, 1989) has been widely used by information technology researchers to gain a better understanding of information technology (IT) adoption and its use in organizations. While TAM has been applied and tested in academic and corporate settings, involving students, business managers, and clerical and administrative types as participants, few studies have evaluated TAM in the healthcare environment. This chapter examines the applicability of the extended technology acceptance model (TAM2; Ventkatesh & Davis, 2000) in the context of physicians’ intention to adopt Internet-based health applications. Data was collected in a survey of pediatricians to see how well the extended model fits in the medical sector. This chapterdiscusses the implications, limitations, and possible explanations for the inconsistent results found within the model when applied to such professional users as physicians.