Trialability, observability and risk reduction accelerating individual innovation adoption decisions.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Information Systems
• Process Innovation

Background:

• Healthcare organizations face challenges in adopting process innovations.
• Lean Systems Thinking is a process innovation aimed at improving efficiency.
• The imaging department of an Australian public hospital serves as the organizational context.

Purpose of the Study:

• To retrospectively analyze the role of computer simulation in accelerating innovation adoption decisions.
• To examine the adoption of Lean Systems Thinking within a hospital imaging department.

Main Methods:

• Intrinsic case study methods were employed over three years.
• Data collection included observations, interviews, process mapping, and document analysis.
• Retrospective interviews with key hospital staff complemented initial data collection.

Main Results:

• Animated computer simulation accelerated the adoption of process changes for improving patient flow.
• Simulation enhanced trialability by allowing experimentation with change ideas.
• Simulation provided observable predictions of change outcomes, minimizing perceived risk.

Conclusions:

• Animated computer simulation is valuable for demonstrating the need for change, identifying options, and predicting outcomes.
• Trialability, observability, and risk reduction are crucial for individual adoption of innovations in healthcare.
• This research has implications for policy, practice, and theory in diffusing process innovations within health service organizations.