Affecting factors of cloud computing adoption in public hospitals affiliated with Zahedan University of Medical Sciences: A cross-sectional study in the Southeast of Iran

Abstract

Objective Health care organizations require cloud computing to remain efficient and cost-effective, and provide high-quality health care services. Adoption of this technology by users plays a critical role in the success of its application. This study aimed to determine factors affecting cloud computing adoption in public hospitals affiliated with Zahedan University of Medical Sciences. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study was performed in 2017. The study population comprised information technology and hospital information system authorities and hospital information system users. The sample consisted of 573 participants. The data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software using descriptive and analytical statistics. Results The mean score of environmental, human, organizational, technological, and intention dimensions of cloud computing adoption was 3.39 ± 0.81, 3.27 ± 0.63, 3.19 ± 0.71, 3 ± 0.43, and 3.55 ± 1.10, respectively. Furthermore, a significant positive relationship was found between intention of cloud computing adoption and environmental ( R = 0.521, p = 0.000), organizational ( R = 0.426, p = 0.000), human ( R = 0.492, p = 0.000), and technological dimensions ( R = 0.157, p = 0.000). Conclusions Benefits of cloud computing adoption, relative advantage, and competitive pressure were identified as the most influential factors in accepting cloud computing. Simplifying the users’ understanding of this technology and its application, improving the staff's technical capabilities, promoting executive managers’ understanding of the nature and functions of cloud computing, and fully supporting and increasing governmental mandates for adoption of new technologies are necessary for facilitating the adoption of cloud computing in given hospitals.

Factors Influencing the Adoption of Cloud Computing in Healthcare Organizations: A Systematic Review

“…Since CCA adoption in major cities of KSA is more under the decisive control of decisionmakers. In addition to TOE factors and their sub-influencing factors, as mentioned in recent research [27], human factors were also identified among the most influential factors. The mean value of human factors was reported as 3.27 ± 0.63 which is smaller than the mean value of environmental factors.…”

MEDICLOUD: a holistic study on the digital evolution of medical data

“…Previous works are always a source of inspiration. Several previous studies have been done in the cloud computing and medical fields and there must have been certain ways in which previous studies would have been conducted [ [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] ] . This segment throws light on such studies and provides a background on how this study will merge the breeding technology of cloud computing with the continuous evolution of medical science.…”

“…ALIPOUR et al [ 25 ] focused on building a questionnaire for healthcare workers regarding their opinions on the use of technology in public and private hospitals in Iran. They distributed seven hundred questionnaires with questions relating to technology in sections like security, complexity, costs, and compatibility; questions relating to organizational benefits referring to relative advantage, management support, and resource adequacy; and finally, questions on governmental policies and cognitive approach.…”

The Current Status and Promotional Strategies for Cloud Migration of Hospital Information Systems in China: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Analysis

“…However, despite the increased attention given to cloud computing in various disciplinary domains such as disease monitoring, health surveillance, and clinical diagnosis, there is a lack of research on the cloud migration of HISs. A comprehensive review of the PubMed and HuiyiMd databases only yielded 3 relevant studies: an Iranian study that identified key driving factors for hospitals adopting cloud computing [ 10 ], a Greek study that proposed a method for migrating clinical and laboratory data based on local hospital conditions [ 11 ], and an American study that focused on essential considerations for chief financial officers before venturing into the cloud [ 12 ]. However, none of these studies have adequately addressed the aforementioned issue.…”