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Donald J. Brenner, Robert A. Logan, Some Considerations in the Diffusion of Medical Technologies: Medical Information Systems, Communication Yearbook, Volume 4, Issue 1, December 1980, Pages 609–623, https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.1980.11923828
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Abstract
This paper examines the lack of acceptance of computerized patient and medical records systems by the medical community in the United States. In the taxonomy of diffusion theory, medical information systems are classified as a radical-instrumental, equipment-embodied technology. Medical information systems represent an anomaly in the history of medical technology because their relative nonacceptance in hospitals and clinics throughout the United States has occurred during a period of rapid growth for many other technological innovations with the same classification.
The nondiffusion of medical information systems is analyzed following the framework of traditional diffusion theory, i.e., according to their individual characteristics. Then the analysis is extended to intraorganizational processes within hospitals, and other environmental factors. The findings indicate that environmental factors, such as government intervention, professional values in medicine, and the public's expectations of physicians, may be far more important elements in the diffusion process than have been recognized heretofore. An explanation of the functions and future of medical information systems is also provided, along with suggestions drawn from the analysis of how to facilitate their diffusion.
