Content area
The healthcare industry has become progressively more reliant upon technological advances to address and meet challenges in the delivery of care. However, two of its most pressing concerns continue to be the cybersecurity of protected health information (PHI) and the interoperability of digital health systems. Traditional security measures and centralized health data solutions have struggled to keep pace with increasing cyber threats and fragmented digital infrastructures, creating vulnerabilities and inefficiencies. Distributed ledger technology (DLT) offers a promising alternative by providing a decentralized, immutable framework for securely managing health data while enhancing seamless information exchange across systems.
While extensive research explores the benefits and challenges of implementing DLT in healthcare to address these issues, little attention has been given to healthcare professionals’ attitudes toward adopting the technology. This study, utilizing a technology acceptance model framework, examines the factors influencing healthcare end-users’ adoption of DLT for improving data security, interoperability, and efficiency. Specifically, it focuses on the roles of perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU), trust, knowledge, and top management team (TMT) support. Additionally, it introduces healthcare relationship management (HRM) to assess whether traditional leadership-driven adoption patterns remain relevant in this context.
Findings reveal that PU exerts the strongest influence on behavioral intention to adopt (BIA), followed by PEU and trust, reinforcing the importance of usability perceptions and confidence in system reliability. Surprisingly, TMT support neither significantly enhances PU nor directly influences BIA, challenging prior assumptions that executive endorsement is a decisive factor in healthcare technology adoption. Furthermore, the HRM results indicate that patient-centric orientation exerts a stronger influence on trust and TMT support than an organizational-centric approach, suggesting a shift toward decentralized and patient-driven models in healthcare innovation.
These insights highlight the need for a balanced approach to successful DLT adoption, integrating education-driven strategies, usability enhancements, and trust-building initiatives rather than relying solely on institutional leadership. This study contributes to the technology acceptance literature by offering a nuanced perspective on adoption dynamics in healthcare and providing practical recommendations for improving implementation strategies through training, stakeholder engagement, and regulatory alignment.