Decision to adopt new medical technology: a case study of thrombolytic therapy

New medical technologies are adopted by practising physicians at varying rates. Thrombolytic therapy is an example of a technological advance that many physicians have seemed reluctant to employ. A random sample of board certified internists was surveyed by mail to study factors that influence decisions to use thrombolytic agents. Variables important in predicting use were identified by discriminant analysis. In general users and non-users had similar assumptions about the risks and benefits of this technology. Among the important predictor variables were a perception of having patients suitable for treatment, availability of the agents and self-rating of knowledge about this therapy. Among questions related to type of practice and education, only subspecialization and textbook reading were important discriminators. These results suggest that decisions to adopt new technologies do not follow simply from risk-benefit assessments.