A novel explanation of why organizations fail to adopt proven technologies: The special case of imaging in the healthcare sector

Models of adoption of technological innovations generally focus on the process of adoption and the factors acting as barriers and facilitators to this process. A challenging problem is the phenomenon whereby organizations are reluctant, lethargic, or resistant to adopt technologies that have been proven to be effective and to provide demonstrable benefits to adopters. Although healthcare delivery organizations have been relatively less aggressive in adopting new technologies than other sectors, they have made notable progress in recent years. We report the preliminary results from a study, conducted in the USA, of the adoption processes and mechanisms of imaging technologies in the healthcare sector, in particular the example of Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS). The study involved 219 hospitals and medical centers who responded to a research questionnaire. We found that one of the key barriers to the slow or non-adoption of such systems is the relationship of the perceived or actual benefits to the evaluation criteria of the organization and its members. This study of evaluation metrics may lead to new directions in the research on adoption of new technologies.