Acceptance of Smart Contracts in Patients Receiving Primary Care: Exploratory Study

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Blockchain Technology in Healthcare
• Patient Adoption of Technology

Background:

• Blockchain smart contracts offer potential benefits in healthcare, including improved patient outcomes, care delivery efficiency, and cost reduction.
• Despite advantages, limited patient interaction with smart contracts in primary care may lead to mistrust, perceived risk, and security concerns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate how patient perceptions of smart contracts influence their adoption in primary care settings.
• To investigate the specific impacts of perceived security, risk, and trust in healthcare providers on smart contract adoption.

Main Methods:

• An experimental survey design was employed with 387 participants randomly assigned to scenarios emphasizing benefits or loss of benefits.
• A Likert scale survey measured five constructs: gain-loss framing, perceived security, trust, perceived risk, and intention to adopt smart contracts.
• Structural equation modeling was used to test the conceptual model and hypotheses.

Main Results:

• Perceived security (β=.50) and trust in healthcare providers (β=.43) significantly and positively influenced the intention to use smart contracts (P<.001).
• Perceived risk negatively impacted adoption intention (β=-.071, P=.048).
• Patients in clinic-based settings and male patients showed lower adoption intentions compared to telehealth settings and female patients, respectively.

Conclusions:

• Healthcare providers should emphasize the security features of smart contracts and leverage patient trust to facilitate adoption.
• Implementation strategies should be tailored to patient demographics (age, health status, gender) to maximize the benefits of this disruptive technology.
• Understanding patient perceptions is crucial for effective promotion and integration of blockchain smart contracts in primary care.