No abstract

While most industries have aggressively leveraged information technology (IT) to improve quality and reduce costs the healthcare sector has lagged behind. Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) hold great promise for improving quality of care yet widespread adoption is lacking. Physician acceptance is critical to widespread adoption of ambulatory EMRs, yet there is little independent research on physician perceptions. This paper attempts to address this void by reporting the results of a study of physician perceptions related to EMRs in a large, multi-specialty clinic. Physician perceptions of select EMR functions and general attitudes and beliefs are reported. While the importance and anticipated utilization of EMR functions varied, nearly 80 percent of the respondents felt an EMR should be implemented. The findings have implications for both vendors attempting to design and market EMR systems and physician executives and practice managers seeking to solicit support for EMR adoption and/or develop a successful implementation strategy.

No abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate why physicians in the USA have been reluctant to embrace electronic medical record (EMR) technology. More specifically, the present study aims to examine physicians' perceptions regarding the importance of various functions of EMR systems and the extent to which physician characteristics were related to the perceived importance of the functions.Design/methodology/approachA mail survey was sent to 358 physicians affiliated with a large, multi‐specialty clinic located in the Midwest region of the USA.FindingsAlthough previous studies suggest that the age, computer sophistication, and medical specialty of physicians impacts the extent to which they use EMR technology, the present study found very little evidence that these characteristics of the physicians were related to the perceived importance of EMR functions.Practical implicationsSince the results demonstrate that physicians view EMR technology as highly important, it was concluded that difference in the use of EMR technology among physicians was not primarily the result of differences in the perceived importance of EMR technology. Rather, it appears that a lack of computer skills may account for much of the resistance to adopting EMR technology. Thus, training to increase computer proficiency among physicians may be the key to increasing the acceptance of EMR technology.Originality/valueThe paper provides useful information on physicians' perceptions of EMR technology.

Proponents of e-commerce have known for some time that limited participation by consumers partially reflects their concern over the privacy of personal information. To address consumer concerns, web site operators have employed security mechanisms, including privacy policy statements to increase their perceived trustworthiness. While empirical evidence is limited, there is some question regarding the ability of privacy policy statements to engender significantly greater levels of trust. The limited effectiveness of such statements may reflect their voluntary implementation, self-enforcement, and\or significant variance (protection and enforcement) from one web site to another. One possible remedy would be the imposition of legally mandated statements. This study examined the efficacy of legally mandated privacy policies vis-à-vis both voluntary statements of varying degrees of protection and the absence of any such statement. The results were mixed, as legally mandated privacy policy statements were found to be comparable to strong voluntary statements, but superior to none, weak or moderate policies. Perhaps more important, the nature of the privacy policy statement interacted with type of information requested.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This study aims to compare the effectiveness of third-party seals with self-reported privacy policy statements with regard to the willingness of potential e-commerce customers to provide web sites with various types of personal information. Design/methodology/approach -A survey was administered to 374 graduate business students at two Midwestern universities in the USA. Findings -The results indicated that third-party seals were not as effective as self-reported privacy statements with a strong guarantee of security. Research limitations/implications -This study did not provide any evidence to support the necessity for small enterprises to incur the added costs in terms of money and time required to obtain a third-party seal. Rather the results suggest small enterprises may increase consumer trust more effectively through strong privacy policy statements. Originality/value -This study provides useful information on the effectiveness of third-party seals with self-reported privacy policy statements with regard to the willingness of potential e-commerce customers to provide web sites with various types of personal information.

<span>This research examined the attitudes of older adults toward personal computers and the many roles they may play in their lives. The findings indicate that mature adults appear receptive to select forms of computer-based lifestyle assistance. Younger, more active older adults who have computer experience appear more receptive. Obstacles to product adoption include cost, psychological fears, and computer literacy.</span>

While most industries have aggressively leveraged information technology (IT) to improve quality and reduce costs the healthcare sector has lagged behind. Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) hold great promise for improving quality of care yet widespread adoption is lacking. Physician acceptance is critical to widespread adoption of ambulatory EMRs, yet there is little independent research on physician perceptions. This paper attempts to address this void by reporting the results of a study of physician perceptions related to EMRs in a large, multi-specialty clinic. Physician perceptions of select EMR functions and general attitudes and beliefs are reported. While the importance and anticipated utilization of EMR functions varied, nearly 80 percent of the respondents felt an EMR should be implemented. The findings have implications for both vendors attempting to design and market EMR systems and physician executives and practice managers seeking to solicit support for EMR adoption and/or develop a successful implementation strategy.