Roadmaps for Future ICT Use in the Health Sector

Copyright © 2013, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. This chapter acts as both a review and an empirical framework analysis piece. It argues that technological acceptance and adoption by healthcare firms still suffers from oversimplification of its development, and specially, it measurement processes. There is a common thought both in business and academia that the technology adoption process is a key component of success and allows firms to achieve and sustain competitive advantages. In a digital era, these advantages arise from the potential of information and communication technology to improve firms’ daily activities. This research tries to reinforce the assessment of ICT impacts on healthcare firm performance, presenting a set of induced and intangible benefits besides the traditional financial benefits, as well as measuring IS integration impact. To do so, a structural equation model is applied to a large database sample covering firms from 17 European countries. The results reinforce the importance of induced and structural benefits in firms’ overall performance. It also found a positive relationship between IS integrated systems and performance. These results can be a starting point for a rethinking of the measurement models used in healthcare firms, and reinforce the argument stating that an IS integrated approach can provide better outcomes. Nevertheless, some questions remain unanswered regarding the impacts of ICT acceptance process on overall benefits, and therefore, future research will focus on this domain.