international journal of medical informatics 76 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 790–800 journal homepage: www.intl.elsevierhealth.com/journals/ijmi Key functional characteristics in designing and operating health information websites for user satisfaction: An application of the extended technology acceptance model Dohoon Kim, Hyejung Chang * College of Business Administration, Kyung Hee University, Hoegi-dong #1, Dongdaemoon-gu, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea article info Article history: Received 9 November 2005 Received in revised form 13 September 2006 Accepted 14 September 2006 Keywords: Internet Access to information Consumer satisfaction Management information system Technology acceptance Statistical data analysis abstract Objective: With growing demand for health information and rapid development of informa- tion technology, health information websites are emerging as the most effective media to meet the public’s needs for health information. This article is intended to offer a technical view on the design and operations of health information websites. Along this line, employed here is the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which has been widely used to predict user acceptance based on Perceived Ease-of-Use (PEOU) and Perceived Usefulness (PU). Methods: We extend the original TAM by including some exogenous variables since it is neces- sary to understand the role of the antecedents of acceptance constructs when designing an effective health information website for improving user satisfaction. This study focuses on identifying the core functional factors in designing and operating health information web- sites. Conducted are some multivariate statistical analyses based on data from an extensive survey. Results: The results from the structural equation analysis suggest that functional character- istics should be categorized into three groups: one affecting PU and PEOU, another affecting only PEOU, and the other having no direct effect on either PU or PEOU. In particular, ‘usage support’ and ‘customization’ are two key functional characteristics in the extended TAM framework for health information websites. Conclusion: Contrary to expectations, however, the direct effect of PEOU on usage support is hardly observed, which differentiates health information websites from other commercial websites like online shopping malls. As a result, understanding the antecedents of PU takes on more significance. © 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Customers have relied on medical experts for health informa- tion as knowledge on medical service was perceived as med- ical expertise. With the living standards increasing and the supplier-oriented health care system switching to a customer- oriented one, customers are demanding a broader scope of ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 2 961 9432; fax: +82 2 961 0515. E-mail addresses: dyohaan@khu.ac.kr (D. Kim), hjchang@khu.ac.kr (H. Chang). medical knowledge, ranging from simple information related to better health to medical expertise. As consumer demand for health information grows, the Internet has emerged as a great information source. The Internet provides easy access to a variety of health information that was not available to the public in the past. Accordingly, health information web- sites have become the most effective medium for facilitating 1386-5056/$ – see front matter © 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2006.09.001