Implementation of an Electronic Prescription System in a Brazilian General Hospital: Understanding Sources of Resistance

Abstract

The swift development of clinical information systems has contributed to the emergence of various transformations within hospitals. However, scientific literature has shown that the implementation of many of these undertakings has yielded frustrating results. This research investigates the main causes for the unsuccessful implementation of an electronic prescription system in a Brazilian general hospital – from an explanatory-exploratory case study standpoint – adopting resistance to information systems as its theoretical background. In the case under analysis, the study shows that the main motives for resistance to the system were: lack of training of the physicians; the age of the physicians; problems with the design and safety of the system; inadequate technological infrastructure; the employment relationship of the physicians; and the interference of the system with the power and autonomy of the physicians. The paper concludes that the intra-organizational context of the hospitals must be analyzed in a systemic way in order to understand fully how the system will be accepted and used by its main potential users, namely physicians.