Background: More than 95% hospitals and 80% of clinics in US have adopted electronic health records (EHR). However, the adoption rate of EHR in the general public is much lower. Concern over data safety and patient privacy has been considered a primary reason for slow adoption of EHR in the general public; however limited research has been conducted to verify this hypothesis. Methods: We analyzed data from Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), 2017 HINTS 5 Cycle 1. A total of 3,285 participants answered the questions about their perceived utility and concerns of EHR use. Hierarchical linear regression was performed to examine interrelationships of key variables. Results: About 33.2% participants have used EHR in the last 12 months, was associated with younger age, higher income, being female and white, and poor health, and prior eHealth experience. After controlling for potential confounders, data revealed that perceived ease of EHR, usefulness of EHR, and self-confidence in data protection all predicted EHR use, while concern about unauthorized data use weakened the effects. Conclusion: Despite a steady growth of EHR use in the general public, the adoption rate remains low. Targeted intervention is needed to bridge the digital health divide. Concern of data safety is a primary reason that many people have not adopted EHR despite their prior experiences of using eHealth resources. More research is needed on how to address public concern on patient privacy and EHR data safety.