Acceptance and Utilization of Picture Archiving and Communication Systems in Emergency Departments: A TAM-Based Study...

In the world of healthcare, picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) have emerged as a crucial part of the medical framework, providing an efficient method for storing, retrieving, transmitting, and displaying medical images. The adoption of PACS in Palestinian governmental hospitals has gradually increased in order to facilitate clinical decision-making and enhance patient care, especially in the emergency department where prompt access to imaging is of paramount importance. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of PACS in emergency departments of Palestinian governmental hospitals, especially on user acceptance, based on technology acceptance model (TAM). The research used a descriptive cross-sectional quantitative design. The study was carried out in 12 governmental hospitals in Palestine, and all emergency department physicians were included in the study. Using a structured questionnaire that measured physicians' perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors towards the use of PACS, data were collected. Questionnaires were distributed to 160 participants; a total of 135 questionnaires were completed (84.37% return rate). The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze data version 20. Correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to explore relationships between the TAM constructs in this study. The SEM or CFA could be used to validate the measurement and structural model in a more comprehensive manner; however, considering sample size and design constraints, this was not applied. While SEM and CFA might be more thorough in the validation of TAM constructs, the emphasis was on exploratory assessment of physician perceptions and acceptance patterns in the current study in a real-world governmental hospital setting. Thus, the analysis was done to look for key predictors of behavioral acceptance through regression-based methods. Physicians gave PACS high ratings in terms of facilitation of work processes, including ease of work task performance (mean = 4.20), speed of work task completion (mean = 4.19), and quality of work to support better patient care (mean = 4.19). It was also seen as being easy to learn (mean = 4.10) and was felt to be effective in reducing stress related to work (mean = 4.39) and was highly recommended for use in other emergency departments (mean = 4.39) by physicians. Overall acceptance of PACS was moderate with a mean of 3.11. The correlation between perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use was found to be significant, as well as between perceived ease of use and system acceptance. Change-related factors were the most significant as seen in the multivariable regression analysis, and socio-demographic factors were not significant. PACS was positively perceived by emergency physicians and linked to positive effect on the workflow efficiency and perceived support for patients care in the Palestinian governmental hospitals. Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and change-related perceptions had the greatest impact on user acceptance. Results also indicate the impact of organizational and contextual factors on the acceptance of health care information technologies in the ED. However, a formal Content Validity Index (CVI) was not computed in this study.