Information Technology Acceptance towards Government E-Health Initiative in Ghana: Case of Tamale Teaching Hospital

Abstract

The use of technology in healthcare setting is not a new concept, however the use of Information Technology (IT) within health setting was non-existent in most developing countries until recent times. Though developing countries are slow adopters of new technology, however, the use of Health Information System (HIS) including Electronic Health Records system (EHRs) in health service delivery has been gaining prominent in most developing countries and Ghana not exclusive. The need to provide patients with timely quality service in an era when data volume is growing quicker than organisational infrastructure development. Many hospitals today are considering implementing this technology to provide medical information and care in a better way. EHRs, an aspect of HIS, is seen as a powerful tool, which provides a great number of benefits in one of the data intensive industries like the healthcare industry. This study extends the applicability of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to examine user acceptance of EHRs in the hospital within the context of Ghana. The study aims to examine EHRs characteristics/factors which affect EHRs acceptance among health professional, capitalising on their belief perspective in the process of transformation, from paper-based to electronic in the hospital. This EHRs acceptance assessment is to help the health facility estimate how perception of healthcare professions on the usage of EHRs will contribute to the success of the system. By adopting quantitative research approach, data was gathered from the users of the system and the system administrators using closed-ended questionnaires and observations Key words: Information Technology (IT), Health Information System (HIS), Electronic Health Record system (EHRs), Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)