Factors That Influence the Adoption of Electronic Patients Records Management Systems in South Africa

Abstract

Technology continues to evolve in South African health cares. The internet continues to gain popularity in organisations. Electronic patient's records management systems are slowly implemented in health cares. Technology systems play an important role in improving health cares. The study used quantitative approach. Data was collected using a structured survey questionnaires. The sample was made from 580 individuals from different health practices in the Gauteng Province. A conceptual framework was derived from TAM and TOE framework. The study used different statistical measures such as Cronbach alpha, principle component analysis, multiple linear regression to analyze the data. The study confirmed that the usefulness and the ease-of-use are the main factors that influence the adoption of electronic patient record management systems in South Africa. The knowledge of electronic patient record management systems, ICT infrastructures, technology readiness, organizational readiness, top management support and compatibility of electronic patient record management systems were found to be also significant in explaining the adoption of electronic patient record management systems. The paper concludes by making recommendations to system developers, vendors, policy makes, researcher's and stakeholders regarding the factors that health care organisations consider in adopting electronic health record system.