A Structural Model of the Impact of Physicians’ Perceptions of Computers on the Use of Hospital Information Systems

A structural model is developed to specify the effects of physician perceptions of the impact of computers on their use of a computer-based hospital information system (HIS). The overall model consists of a measurement model, which assumes that the observed variables are generated by a small number of unobserved variables or factors, and a structural equation model that relates exogenous and endogenous variables hypothesized as characterizing physician use of the HIS. Parameters of the model are estimated with data from 477 physicians. This approach demonstrates a powerful means of modeling processes involving variables of theoretical interest that cannot be directly observed.