Empirically testing some factors affecting HMS usage

Purpose - Without use the expected benefits from healthcare management systems (HMS) cannot be derived. Thus, while use alone may not guarantee success, one can safely assume that the more use the better. HMS has been instrumental in facilitating care providers' work. However, many hospitals have encountered usage problems and some user-related factors have been recognized in the literature as potentially important to make HMS more successful. The purpose of this paper is to test the importance of the factors proposed in the literature as important determinants of HMS usage measured by the number of hours used and the frequency of use. Design/methodology/approach - Several user-related variables such as user participation, user expertise, and user training previously studied separately by different authors are brought together into an integrated model to be tested empirically. Data from 213 nurses using their hospital HMS have been used to test proposed relationships between the independent variables and HMS usage results. Findings - The results confirm the importance of these factors and provide the basis for managerial recommendations. Hospital managers can use the resources validated by this study to improve their own operations and improve the likelihood of success implementing HMS. Future research projects may identify other possible factors important for HMS implementation success to improve the model proposed here. Originality/value - HMS is a very widely used and an important system for hospitals, but has been neglected in research. This is one of the first rigorous studies of HMS, and the results provide new practical insights for hospital administrators.