Impact of Telemedicine Technology Tools and Perceived Barriers on Satisfaction and Continued Usage Intention of Office-based Physicians

Abstract

Government-imposed lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders during COVID-19 have accelerated the adoption of telemedicine for remote patient monitoring, consultation, diagnosis, and care. However, healthcare providers’ utilization of and satisfaction with telemedicine technologies could have a significant impact on the quality of care provided to patients during COVID-19. The objective of our study is to investigate the impacts of telemedicine technology tools and perceived barriers on physicians’ overall satisfaction and continued usage intention of telemedicine in office-based ambulatory care settings. With the help of task-technology fit model we develop a set of hypotheses and then test those hypotheses empirically with the help of National Electronic Health Records Survey (NEHRS) response data. While we find significant impacts of telemedicine technology tools on physicians’ satisfaction and continued usage intention, perceived barriers only significantly impact physicians’ satisfaction but not the continued usage intention. Our research has significant implications for both theory and practice.