Patients' perceptions of web self-service applications in primary healthcare

This paper presents the preliminary findings of a case study of patients' acceptance and usage of web self-service - online appointment system - in a primary health care centre in a regional area in Australia. After two months of implementation, structured interviews were undertaken over three months to ascertain patients' perceptions of the web self-service application. The findings indicates that patients' acceptance of the web self-service application maybe hindered by their relative lower computer ownership or inadequate computer skills and access to the internet, their preference for flexible personal communication for appointment making and inadequate flexibility of the appointment system compared to phone call. Our preliminary findings may suggest that more than half of the healthcare consumers in this area are likely to accept the PCEHR initiative, however the decision makers of the PCEHR system need to carefully design the strategies and practice for the introduction of the innovation to overcome the substantial barriers to consumers' ability to access the internet-based e-health solutions.