ResearchT he potential contribution of a clinical information system (CIS) to the quality of health care 1-3 is generally acknowledged, and numerous hospitals have been engaged in their implementation. [4][5][6] Investment in information technology (IT) in the health care sector is higher than ever. Physicians play a critical role in the success of CIS implementation, 10-13 but many are reluctant to use IT tools.
14,15Rather than viewing resistance as a barrier to be removed,
16or taking for granted that resistance will be dysfunctional and even destructive, 17 we considered that it can also be useful in preventing the implementation of systems that are flawed 18 or that would have negative organizational impacts. 17 We analyzed cases of CIS implementation in 3 hospitals to understand better the dynamics of physicians' resistance to CIS implementation. We also sought to determine whether resistance was an a priori reaction or whether it developed only later, during the implementation.
MethodsFor our analytical framework, we drew from a model that suggests that, when a CIS is introduced, resistance behaviours occur if users perceive threats from the interaction of initial conditions and system features.12 During implementation, triggers may change the nature of the initial conditions or change the object of resistance, and resistance behaviours may vary in intensity, from apathy to aggressive actions (Appendix 1).
12For our study, we selected 3 hospitals in which CIS had been or was being implemented. The cases were selected with enough similarities and differences so as to maximize variation and allow for comparison (Table 1).
19,20For data collection, we used direct observation, documentation and interviews, with interviews being the principal source of data. The initial people interviewed were the project manager, the nursing director and the medical director at each hospital. A snowball sampling strategy 21,22 was then used, whereby those interviewed identified additional people whom they thought held critical information about the project, had exhibited extreme behaviours of acceptance or resistance, or portrayed the typical behaviours of their professional group. Data collection ended when information obtained from additional respondents could not be justified in terms of effort and resources.23 We used open-ended questions and asked respondents to describe the implementation, from project initiation to termination. Following an interview protocol, additional questions were prompted to ensure data completeness Getting physicians to accept new information technology: insights from case studies Background: : The success or failure of a computer information system (CIS) depends on whether physicians accept or resist its implementation. Using case studies, we analyzed the implementation of such systems in 3 hospitals to understand better the dynamics of physicians' resistance to CIS implementation.Methods: : We selected cases to maximize variation while allowing comparison of CIS implementations. Data were coll...