Adoption and Diffusion of Health Information Technology - The Case of Primary Care Clinics

Brantly Callaway and Vivek Ghosal ()

No 3925, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: We empirically examine the determinants of adoption of information technology by primary healthcare clinics using a large sample of physician clinics from several States in the U.S. Ours is one of the first studies to intensively investigate primary care clinics. These clinics are important as they represent the frontlines in the delivery of services in this large and complex market. Our study generates several interesting results related to the adoption and diffusion of Health Information Technology (HIT), including: (1) the adoption probabilities vary considerably by the specific type of clinic; (2) in contrast to numerous studies in the broader technology adoption literature, we find little evidence to suggest a relationship between firm (clinic) size and the likelihood of adoption; (3) there appears to be no definitive relationship between the age of a clinic and the likelihood of adoption; (4) there is a strong effect of geographic location, as measured by specific types of urban and rural counties, on the likelihood of adoption; (5) market competitive forces appear to have a mixed influence on adoption; (6) there is a distinct State-specific effect suggesting that information privacy, medical malpractice laws and State initiatives may play an important role in adoption; and (7) HIT is diffusing at a faster rate over time. Our findings have the potential to provide a better understanding of the longer-run effectiveness and efficiency in the provision of healthcare, and crafting appropriate policy responses. We note some future extensions of our work.

Keywords: healthcare; primary care; health information technology; electronic medical records; technology; adoption; diffusion; urban and rural locations; competition; healthcare policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I11 I18 M15 M21 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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