Passive resistance to health information technology implementation: the case of electronic medication management system

Purpose –This study attempts to understand the factors that influence clinician resistance to the implementation of health information technology in a mandatory setting.Design/methodology/approach –A survey study was conducted with 202 clinicians regarding their perceptions of the implementation of electronic medication management systems (eMMS) in an Australian hospital. The data was collected during the initial roll-out of eMMS for model validation and quantitative analysis.Findings –The overall results indicated that performance expectancy, switching costs, and facilitating conditions are direct predictors of clinician resistance, whereas effort expectancy and social influence showed indirect effects on clinician resistance through performance expectancy or switching costs.Theoretical implications –The study is among the first study that investigates passive clinician resistance to the implementation of health information technology in a health organisation. This study also focused on opposition behaviour among under-examined degrees of resistance.Practical implications –This study provides some insights to the hospital management on how to mitigate clinician resistance in the implementation of health information technology.Research limitations/Future directions –Other types of clinician resistance, such as postponement and rejection, are not examined in this study. Future research on postponement behaviour and rejection behaviour is needed to have a more comprehensive view of clinician resistance.