Title: Obstacles to the adoption of radio frequency identification technology in the emergency rooms of hospitals

Authors: Charlie C. Chen, Jiinpo Wu, Richard E. Crandall

Addresses: CIS Department, Raley Hall, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608, USA. ' Department of Information Management, Tamkang University, 151, Ying Chuan Road, Tamsui, Taipei Hsien, 25137, Taiwan. ' CIS Department, Raley Hall, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608, USA

Abstract: The Emergency Room (ER) receives patients in critical conditions. The operation of many emergency service chains is hampered because the required medical equipment is not always conveniently available and patient vital signs are manually monitored, but not automatically tracked on a real-time basis. This has resulted in medical errors, increased stress levels of medical teams, and poor utilisation of staff and equipment. Our research investigates factors that contribute to the adoption of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies by the medical team in ERs. We propose a theoretical framework to address this issue based upon the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) theory.

Keywords: unified theory of acceptance and use of technology; UTAUT; radio frequency identification; RFID; value mode; technology acceptance model; TAM; emergency rooms; emergency service chains; medical errors; performance expectancy; effort expectancy; social influence; facilitating conditions; return on clinical assets; ROCA; electronic healthcare; e-health.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEH.2007.013100

International Journal of Electronic Healthcare, 2007 Vol.3 No.2, pp.193 - 207

Published online: 07 Apr 2007 *

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