The Role of Psychological and Technology-related Personality Traits and Knowledge Levels as Factors Influencing Adoption of Telemonitoring by Medical Professionals

Objectives Information and communication technologies are becoming increasingly important in health care. Randomized clinical trials have shown that telemonitoring in particular leads to improved quality of care as well as shortened hospital stays and reduced health care costs. For its long-term anchoring in medical care, user-oriented technology needs to be developed, taking into account the complex structures of technology acceptance Methods Knowledge of and attitudes towards telemonitoring amongst medical professionals were investigated using an online-based approach with a random sample of n = 614; the response rate was 21 % (n = 133). The emergence of positive attitude patterns towards telemonitoring was analyzed using the relationships between psychological and technology-related personality traits, and perceived knowledge was determined using a regression model. Results Positive attitudes towards telemonitoring are significantly influenced by the individual's knowledge and agreeableness, which is strongly characterized by altruistic traits and interpersonal trust. There is a strong association with an improvement in the quality of care, while there are differences in attitudes towards telemonitoring between health care sectors and gender. Overall, only 57 % of the physicians surveyed feel sufficiently informed about the use of telemonitoring. Conclusion Medical evidence is crucial for the further development of telemedicine in general and telemonitoring in particular. Improvements need to be made in knowledge transfer, the exchange of best practice solutions and the anchoring of telemedicine in education and training.