Smart Glasses in Health Care: A Patient Trust Perspective

Abstract

Digitization in the health care sector is striving forward. Wearable technologies like smart glasses are being evaluated for providing hands-free and septic-safe access to information systems at the point of care. While smart glasses hold the potential to make service processes more efficient and effective, it is unclear whether patients would opt-in to treatments involving smart glasses. Patients are not active users of smart glasses but are nevertheless affected of outcomes produced by the symbiosis of health care workers and smart glasses. Using an online survey with 437 respondents, we find that it is important to properly explain to patients why smart glasses are being used and to proactively address data privacy concerns. Otherwise, smart glasses can significantly increase risk perceptions, reduce patients’ estimates of health care workers’ abilities, and decrease patients’ willingness to opt-in to medical procedures.