A South African perspective on factors that impact on the adoption and meaningful use of health information technologies

Abstract

Objective: Various benefits are associated with the adoption and meaningful use of health information technologies (HITs) in the healthcare sector. Despite the associated advantages with the adoption and use of HITs, the South African healthcare sector has been slow to adopt HITs, such as electronic record systems. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that should be addressed to encourage the adoption and meaningful use of HITs in the South African healthcare landscape.

Design: A three-round Delphi study was conducted to identify such factors.

Setting and subjects: The Delphi panel included 21 participants who were considered to be suitably knowledgeable about the acceptance and significant use of HITs in the context of the South African healthcare setting.

Results: A total of 58 factors were uncovered by the participants. Consensus was reached on 42 factors that were considered to have a direct to significant impact on the adoption and meaningful use of HITs in the South African healthcare sector.

Conclusion: The results of this study highlight factors that should be addressed to encourage the adoption and meaningful use of HITs in South Africa’s healthcare setting. These results indicate that a wide range of factors need to be addressed and involve a multitude of stakeholders.