Healthcare Providers’ Perceptions towards Health Information Applications at King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions of healthcare providers towards health information technology applications in King Abdul-Aziz Medical City (KAMC) in terms of benefits, barriers, and motivation to use these applications. Data Collection: The study population consists of all healthcare providers working at KAMC. A sample size of 623 was drawn from a population of 7493 healthcare providers using convenience random sampling method. Of 623 questionnaires distributed, 377 were returned, giving a response rate of 60.5 percent. Measurement A self-administered questionnaire was developed based on extended literature review. The questionnaire comprised 25 statements measuring benefits, barriers, and motivation to use health information applications to be responded on a five-point Likert-scale. In addition, the questionnaire included questions on demographic and organizational variables. Results: The results show that the majority of healthcare providers had good knowledge and skills in information technology, as most of them use KAMC health information applications regularly and/or had training courses in the field. The results indicated that training has a significant positive effect on health providers' IT knowledge and skills. The majority of healthcare providers perceived that the information technology applications in KAMC are valuable and beneficial to both patients and KAMC. However, the healthcare providers were split over the barriers to HIT use in KAMC. As for drivers, the results showed that healthcare providers generally would be motivated to use IT applications in KAMC by provision of new applications and training, contribution in change hospital's work procedures, and provision of technical support. Finally, the results showed the perceptions of healthcare providers on benefits, barriers and motives were influenced by gender, occupation and training. However, the effect of these variables on healthcare providers towards benefits, barriers and motives of IT use were inconsistent. Conclusion: Despite the perceived benefits and motives of health information applications, there were many barriers identified by healthcare providers. These were insufficient number of computers, frequent system down, and the use of computerized systems is time consuming. Furthermore, there were significant differences in the perceptions of healthcare providers towards benefits, barriers, and motives to health information technology with respect gender, occupation, and training.