Implementation of Secure Health Information Technology Innovations: An Extended Diffusion of Innovations Perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Successful implementation of health information technology (HIT) innovations has numerous benefits to healthcare providers, physicians, patients, and society. Increasingly, securing digitized health data is becoming an unstated mandate when developing and deploying HIT innovations. In this paper, an extended version of Roger’s diffusion of innovations (DOI) model is presented for secure HIT innovation implementations, in the context of electronic medical records (EMR) implementation. The authors theorize that perceived information privacy and security (IP&S) is a vital DOI antecedent. The findings of this research reveal a positive association between perceived IP&S attributes in a HIT innovation such as EMR, and its implementation success.This study is of value to both researchers and practitioners. This study contributes to academic literature by empirically validating an extended DOI model which includes an IP&S dimension, which researchers would be able to employ in future research. Based on the findings of this study, practitioners would be well-advised to pay close attention to the IP&S aspects of HIT innovations upfront during the implementation process, and solicit inputs and elicit requirements for the same from the key stakeholders early on in the process. This would facilitate the allocation of monetary and other resources to address the technology aspects, especially the IP&S aspects of HIT innovations, and also assist with positioning HIT innovations in the organization’s broad strategy in a meaningful way.