Extending the Information Systems Success Model to Explain E-Health Adoption in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have found system quality, information quality, and service quality to be significant factors affecting the adoption of e-health services. However, little research has been conducted on factors related to the patient and the healthcare environment that may have an effect on the aforementioned relationship. This paper addresses this gap by extending the Information Systems Success Model to examine the moderating effects of patient empowerment, healthcare sustainability, and value co-creation on the adoption of e-health services in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: Data were gathered using purposive sampling through an online survey from 377 adult participants in Saudi Arabia who have previously used e-health systems. Selection of participants with prior experience was done to make sure that their judgments about the quality of the system, information, and the service offered were not made in the absence of usage. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling was used to examine proposed relationships and moderating effects. RESULTS: System quality (β = 0.312, p < 0.001), information quality (β = 0.202, p < 0.001), and service quality (β = 0.274, p < 0.001) significantly influenced the adoption of e-health services. Patient empowerment and healthcare sustainability significantly strengthened the relationships between all three quality dimensions and e-health adoption. Value co-creation had a significant effect on the relationships between system quality and e-health adoption, as well as between service quality and e-health adoption. Nonetheless, value co-creation failed to have any significant moderating effect on the relationship between information quality and e-health adoption (β = 0.106, p = 0.126). This shows that its moderating influence was not consistent across all quality dimensions. CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate that system quality, information quality, and service quality are important determinants of e-health adoption. In addition, patient empowerment, healthcare sustainability, and value co-creation serve as important contextual factors that enhance the effects of quality dimensions on e-health adoption, although variations exist across specific interactions. These findings show that patient and healthcare conditions need to be considered when discussing the impact of system, information, and service quality on adoption of e-health, while at the same time providing context-based insights for the healthcare sector in Saudi Arabia.