Could Negative Perceptions of Information Privacy and Security Impact Health Information Technology (HIT) Implementation Success?

There is a consensus among healthcare professionals and the public about the potential of health information technology (HIT) to make the healthcare system efficient, effective, and safer leading to cost savings in this process, and its ability to pave the way for public health improvement. Among existing health information technologies, electronic medical record (EMR) occupies an important place because of its potential for healthcare monitoring and improvement, especially real-time health monitoring leading to pervasive healthcare. Recent laws in the United States require the implementation and meaningful use of EMR, thereby underlining its importance even further. Information privacy and security issues are increasingly becoming assuming significance with respect to deployment and use of information technology, particularly health information technology, because of the possibility of security breaches involving protected health information (PHI). Healthcare provider and healthcare receiver concerns abound with respect to the information privacy and security offered by health information technology, particularly electronic medical records. This research-in-progress investigates if users’ perceptions about information privacy and security (or lack thereof) in a technology innovation such as EMR plays a role in its successful implementation and subsequent use. Specifically, it investigates whether negative perceptions of information privacy and security will hinder HIT implementation success