Factors affecting decisions to adopt medical technologies in acute care hospitals

The results of this research have added an expanded perspective on the decision to adopt particular technologies. The perception had been that, given the current state of health care reimbursement, decisions to acquire radical and often expensive devices will center around economic or strategic considerations. However, it was discovered that technology acquisition appeared to be a physician centered activity with less consideration given to strategic or economic factors. While these data suggest that hospitals have not been listening to complaints about rising health care costs and continue to operate in a "business as usual" manner, it may because physicians continue to be the dominant players in what is for them an unrestrained free market. This trend, if continued, may ultimately lead to a reimposition of heavy handed government regulation in the adoption of even the most routine medical technology. As a result, it is vital that health care administrators begin to explore ways for moving from physician centered and tactical considerations to a more strategic focus which builds upon the needs and interests of the medical staff to serve the community in a more responsible fashion before that ability is taken away from them.