Assimilation of Healthcare Information Systems (HIS): An analysis and critique

Abstract

The assimilation of information systems throughout the healthcare industry has increased dramatically since it is now perceived that Information Systems/ Information Technology (IS/IT) will be able to bring about immense benefit to medical personnel in delivering better services. However, the enthusiasm of having new information systems implemented usually deteriorates dramatically once the system is acquired. This causes a major issue in the assimilation of the newly implemented technology which could provide a negative impact on the successful use of the information system. This study describes the design and preliminary analysis on the technology innovation assimilation issues in a healthcare setting with the aim of developing a technology innovation assimilation model for hospitals to successfully assimilate and sustain the use of the healthcare information systems. Findings indicate that there are various technology, organization and environment elements that should be considered and also barriers that relevant healthcare factions need to overcome in order to successfully assimilate the healthcare information systems.