Acceptance of Technological Innovations in Emergency Departments: An Empirical Study Based on an Extended TAM

Background: Although technology is rapidly transforming many industries, the healthcare industry remains comparatively conservative and slow to adopt new technologies due to patient safety concerns. Notwithstanding the abundance of research on technology acceptance, most studies overlook departmental variations, making it impossible to enhance technology adoption in the medical sector. Thus, the purpose of this study is to bridge this gap by concentrating on the emergency department (ED). Methods: This study examined the factors influencing Malaysian ED healthcare professionals' acceptance of new medical technology by introducing organisational support and training with the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The study's target population comprised ED healthcare professionals in Malaysian hospitals who were at least 25 to 60 years old. In total, 140 valid surveys were gathered by email and WhatsApp from Malaysian hospital EDs, and SPSS and SmartPLS were utilised for analysis. Results: Perceived usefulness and training have a significant impact on attitude towards use, whereas attitude towards use is the sole variable that directly influences behavioural intention to use and acts as a mediator in certain paths. Conclusions: Hospital administration should concentrate on the actual needs of ED healthcare professionals, improve their understanding of technology, and offer targeted training in order to promote its effective adoption and utilisation. In the meantime, technology providers should improve the innovation's design to make it more accessible to EDs. These findings also show that incorporating organisational support and training enhances TAM's explanatory power and reveals its flexibility in high-stress, fast-paced environments.