The effects of perceived health status on privacy concerns and opt-in intention toward Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) Emergent Research Forum (ERF)

Literature has highlighted that sensitivity of health information, which is shared through health information exchanges (HIEs), has caused security and privacy concerns. However, little is known about how perceived health status can affect patients' privacy concerns and opt-in intentions toward HIEs. The interaction of perceived health status and privacy concerns may significantly affect the national adoption of HIEs by consumers and the widespread diffusion of electronic exchange models by healthcare organizations in the future. To investigate the role of health status in the adoption equation, we conducted an online survey in the United States using 826 samples. The result shows that patients' opt-in decision is significantly driven by concern for information privacy and the perceived health status moderates this relationship. Interestingly, on the contrary to our hypothesis, individuals who perceive themselves unhealthy are less likely to consider negative effects of concern for information privacy in their tendency to opt-in toward HIEs.