Investigating Patients' Continuance Intention Toward Conversational Agents in Outpatient Departments: Cross-sectional Field Survey

Abstract

Background: Conversational agents (CAs) have been developed in outpatient departments to improve physician-patient communication efficiency. As end users, patients’ continuance intention is essential for the sustainable development of CAs. Objective: The aim of this study was to facilitate the successful usage of CAs by identifying key factors influencing patients’ continuance intention and proposing corresponding managerial implications. Methods: This study proposed an extended expectation-confirmation model and empirically tested the model via a cross-sectional field survey. The questionnaire included demographic characteristics, multiple-item scales, and an optional open-ended question on patients’ specific expectations for CAs. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was applied to assess the model and hypotheses. The qualitative data were analyzed via thematic analysis. Results: A total of 172 completed questionaries were received, with a 100% (172/172) response rate. The proposed model explained 75.5% of the variance in continuance intention. Both satisfaction (β=.68; P