A Study on the Intention to Use Korean Telemedicine Services: Focusing on the UTAUT2 Model

Abstract

With the outbreak of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the importance and demand of telemedicine, a method of supply medical services in a non-face-to-face manner, is spreading worldwide. Despite its high medical standards and IT technology, the telemedicine practice between medical staff and patients is not allowed in Korea. Therefore, this study was intended to examine the factors influencing on the intention to use Korean telemedicine services from the perspective of potential consumers in China and Vietnam as a pavement basic work to expand Korean telemedicine services overseas. To this end, the UTAUT2 model was reconstructed to be suitable for the study on the acceptance of telemedicine service; users’ perceived perception on Korean telemedicine services (i.e. performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, price value, perceived risk) and personal characteristics (i.e. innovativeness and concern for health) were set as main variables; and their relationship with the use intention was empirically analyzed. As a result of the analysis, it was found that, performance expectancy, social influence, price value, and perceived risk factors, except for effort expectancy, have a significant relationship influencing on the use intention. In addition, it was confirmed that innovativeness and concern for health have a moderating effect on the relationship between performance expectancy and use intention. Finally, specific implications derived based on the analysis results are expected to be used as basic data for seeking global strategies for Korean medical services in conjunction with the overseas expansion of the Korean telemedicine service-related businesses. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.