Assessing Resistance of Professional Users as a Determinant of IT-Diffusion and IT - Use in Healthcare

摘要

Every improvement is a change but not every change is an improvement. Developing, implementing, and using information technology in organisations is a complex social activity. It is often characterised by ill-defined problems or vague goals, conflicts and disruptions that result from organisational change. To understand resistance, its causes and to deal effectively with them, it is important to recognise that all change has a technical and a social aspect. By filtering communal aspects out of different disciplines the following schools of literature can be observed: resistance to change, fear of change, IS success and product innovation obstructions. From these disciplines we derive a basic model for resistance: permission to change (Are we allowed or obliged to change due to management or the environment?), ability to change (Are we able to change?) and attitude to change (Do we want to change?). A study amongst 56 general practitioners (GP's) on the influence of resistance on the introduction of an Electronic Prescription System (EPS) demonstrates that the EPS is rejected in 20 % of the cases, but more troublesome not used in 72% of the cases. Reasons for this are postponement (no time or relevance at this moment) and opposition (unwilling or unable to use the system). Practical results of the study show that 30% of the GP's want to remain free choice of medicine prescription and 27% of the GP's oppose the use of the international codes for primary care (ICPC). There is a fear of losing contact with the patient together with a fear of losing time during a consult (which is confirmed in several British studies).