Determinant factors on the adoption of application service providers in hospital information systems / 대한의료정보학회지

OBJECTIVE: An application service provider (ASP) is a business that provides computer-based services to customers over a network. The need for ASPs has developed due to increasing costs of information systems, which have far exceeded the price-range of small to medium sized businesses. The ASP could be considered as a potential strategy in hospital information systems (HIS). This study investigates significant factors influencing the adoption of an ASP in hospitals. METHODS: Two survey instruments were developed for information technology (IT) experts in hospitals and IT companies, respectively, and a total of 101 responses were analyzed using SAS, version 9.1. Respondents' characteristics were presented using descriptive statistics, while factor analyses were performed for ASP characteristics and influencing factors for ASP adoption. Regression analyses enabled the understanding of relationships between factors and attitudes toward ASP adoption. RESULTS: Nine factors were derived: efficiency, availability, responsiveness, security, resistancy, service quality, attitude toward information-oriented work of CEO or IT experts, environment, and user attitude. Except for responsiveness and CEO or IT experts' attitude, the seven factors had significant effects on the adoption of an ASP in hospitals. In particular, security and user attitude showed negative effects on ASP adoption. There were variations in the subsystems of HIS. CONCLUSION: For adopting ASP in hospitals, efficiency, availability, security, resistancy, service quality, environment, and user attitude need to be considered, especially security and user attitude. This study allowed the understanding and comparative analysis of user (hospitals) and supplier (IT companies) perspectives of information systems in terms of ASP adoption in hospitals.

Influence of Hospital Website Attributes on the Recommendation of Customers in Mid-sized Hospitals / 대한의료정보학회지

OBJECTIVE: Mid-sized hospital websites were assessed to examine how their attributes influence outcome indicators as a potential marketing strategy. Specifically, the website attributes considered were accessibility, content sufficiency, and layout design, while outcome indicators were evaluated, based on satisfaction with the website, intention to revisit the website, and intention to recommend the hospital. METHODS: Five representative websites were selected according to their ranks derived from major ranking sites. The diversity of the websites were emphasized. Then, a questionnaire survey was conducted on 74 respondents. Collected data was analyzed, using frequency, correlation, and repeated measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: All three attributes were related to satisfaction with the website; in addition, both content sufficiency and layout design were significantly related to the intention to revisit. As for the intention to recommend the hospital, only the content sufficiency was significant. In particular, the sufficiencies on 'disease or symptoms' and 'question and answer' were important to all three outcome indicators. CONCLUSION: The websites serve as a marketing tool in managing mid-sized hospitals. Well-designed websites containing sufficient contents facilitate visitor's satisfaction and intention to revisit the website, as well as furthering their intention to recommend the hospital.