Assessing the Acceptance of Clinical Decision Support Tools using an Integrated Technology Acceptance Model

With the medical development in recent decades, the multiplicity of different diseases and an increased number of patients, the use of an advanced healthcare information technology (HIT) such as a clinical decision support system (CDSS) has been of necessary to help general practitioners (GPs). CDSS may fail due to the failure to understand the factors influencing the GP's acceptance of CDSS. Identifying factors that promote acceptance of CDSS can be a vital aspect for its successful implementation. This study seeks to identify factors that influence the acceptance of CDSS in Saudi Arabia by GPs. This study relies mainly on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) which has been integrated with a task-technology fit (TTF) model and has applied a qualitative method to collect the data through using semi-structured interviews with 12 GPs. The study's results indicated that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, technology fit for the task, technology characteristics and task characteristics have all influenced the acceptance of CDSS. The results also indicated the need to extend the UTAUT model to investigate and explore other factors in GPs' acceptance of CDSS.