Utilizing the Technology-Organization-Environment Framework to Examine the Adoption Decision in a Healthcare Context

Abstract

For several decades the information systems field has studied the individual-level information technology (IT) adoption decision. With the mounting pressure to invest in updated technologies and governmental pressure to implement electronic medical records (EMR), the healthcare industry has searched for factors which influence the adoption decision. However, the adoption rate of ERM has been low due to resistance. In this study, the authors examine why traditional models of adoption which focus on the perceptions of the individual towards the innovation (or a micro-level of analysis) have been inadequate to explain ERM adoption issues. Thus, they examine the broader context within which the adoption/non-adoption decision takes place (or a macro-level of analysis), which incorporates the environmental pressures playing a role in the adoption decision. In this study, the authors adopt the technology-organization-environment framework to examine the context of a physician's decision about whether or not to adopt electronic medical record (or EMR) technology.