Issues of the adoption of HIT related standards at the decision-making stage of six tertiary healthcare organisations in Saudi Arabia

Due to interoperability barriers between clinical information systems, healthcare organisations are facing potential limitations with regard to acquiring the benefits such systems offer; in particular, in terms of reducing the cost of medical services. However, to achieve the level of interoperability required to reduce these problems, a high degree of consensus is required regarding health data standards. Although such standards essentially constitute a solution to the interoperability barriers mentioned above, the level of adoption of these standards remains frustratingly low. One reason for this is that health data standards are an authoritative field in which marketplace mechanisms do not work owing to the fact that health data standards developed for a particular market cannot, in general, be applied in other markets without modification. Many countries have launched national initiatives to develop and promote national health data standards but, although certain authors have mapped the landscape of the standardisation process for health data in some countries, these studies have failed to explain why the healthcare organisations seem unwilling to adopt those standards. In addressing this gap in the literature, a conceptual model of the adoption process of HIT related standards at the decision-making stage in healthcare organisations is proposed in this research. This model was based on two predominant theories regarding IT related standards in the IS field: Rogers paradigm (1995) and the economics of standards theory. In addition, the twenty one constructs of this model resulted from a comprehensive set of factors derived from the related literature; these were then grouped in accordance with the Technology-Organisation Environment (TOE), a well-known taxonomy within innovation adoption studies in the IS field. Moving from a conceptual to an empirical position, an interpretive, exploratory, multiple-case study methodology was conducted in Saudi Arabia to examine the proposed model. The empirical qualitative evidence gained necessitated some revision to be made to the proposed model. One factor was abandoned, four were modified and eight new factors were added. This consistent empirical model makes a novel contribution at two levels. First, with regard to the body of knowledge in the IS area, this model offers an in-depth understanding of the adoption process of HIT related standards which the literature still lacks. It also examines the applicability of IS theories in a new area which allows others to relate their experiences to those reported. Secondly, this model can be used by decision makers in the healthcare sector, particularly those in developing countries, as a guideline while planning for the adoption of health data standards

The e-government implementation directions in Oman: A preliminay investigation

Electronic government has established itself as the primary enabler for transforming the way government services are offered to citizens. In the gulf countries, public sector transformation efforts are focused towards increasing accessibility, availability, competitive advances and enhancing services in civil administration. The Sultanate of Oman is one such example of the Gulf countries where large investments have been made since 2003 to implement electronic services in the public sector. Using a qualitative research approach, this research investigates the improvements that have been made to facilitate these electronic services in three public organisations, and their resulting impact within the organisations. The empirical results reveal that among others, top management support, integration and IT staff skills and capabilities are the most important factors that facilitate e-government initiatives in the Omani public sector

An investigation of e-government progress in Oman: A survey of public sector workers

E-government has become increasingly pervasive in modern society and it has emerged as an effective means of delivering government services to citizens. While most early e-government efforts were concentrated on developed countries, in the recent past, it has also become popular in many developing countries. Most notably are the Middle Eastern countries that have continued to invest significantly into e-government initiatives in the last five years; the Sultanate of Oman is one such example. However, although large investments have been made since 2003 to facilitate the implementation of electronic services in the public sector in Oman, only limited progress has been made in terms of realising fully functional e-government. The aim of this paper is to identify the factors that are currently influencing the development and implementation of e-government in Oman using a quantitative survey-based empirical study in three key public service agencies in Muscat, the capital of Oman. The research identified ten different factors that were influencing the progress of the national e-government project, e-Oman, from the viewpoint of government employees. The most salient of these factors was the Omani IT workforce capability and the citizens' trust and confidence in using e-services

Regional E-government Readiness in Saudi Arabia: Challenges and Opportunities (The Case of Hail Region)

In the last decades, there has been an increase in the adoption of information technologies around the world. In the developed countries as well as some developing countries, governments have adopted information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance the access and delivery of government services to benefit citizens, businesses, industries, and employees. However, e-government represents a major alteration in the entire public sector structure, principles, culture and the means of carrying out business by making use of the potential of ICT as a device in the government organizations. Many governments around the world have presented electronic government as a way of reducing costs, advancing services for people and raising effectiveness and productivity in the public sector. Hence, e-government has been recognized as one of the main concerns for governments across the world. Though, the presentation of e-government is about a thorough modification within government and about the relationship between a government and its people. Therefore, the implementation of e-government raises significant technological, social, organizational and political issues which must be taken into consideration and treated cautiously by any government planning its implementation. However, there have been very few studies conducted to investigate, for example, the reasons for the slow progress in regional e-government programs since the introduction of the national e-government program in Saudi Arabia in 2005. Moreover, there is very little published research that emphasizes the factors inhibiting e-government initiatives in Saudi regions. Thus, this study is an attempt to explore and investigate empirically how e-government project is progressing regionally in Saudi Arabia. In addition, it identifies the various challenges and opportunities that regions face. The study used a qualitative case study by conducting 25 interviews with public sector employees in different positions from 5 government organizations in Hail city. Documents analysis was also utilized in this paper. The overall results indicated that e-government progress is still slow in Hail region, where most of the government agencies in this region are categorized to be progressing in the second stage. However, the comparison of e-government readiness between Hail, Riyadh and Madinah shows that Hail region is still away behind in the implementation of e-government services, while Riyadh and Madinah are generally classified to be progressing in the third stage (two-way service delivery). The study also indicated that there were some challenges that would hinder the implementation process of e-government adoption in Hail region. These challenges were categorized as technological, social, organizational and political. Technological challenges include (IT standards, security, privacy, accessibility, ICT infrastructure, and interoperability). However, social challenges include (awareness, transparency, e-literacy, trust, authentication, and culture). The results also showed some organizational challenges such as (strategy, change management, resistance to change, and records management). In addition to some political challenges comprising (leadership, legal and regulation issues, and funding issues). Some opportunities were found to help the organizations in Hail region to advance its e-government services such as (improving management and decision making process, organizing government business process, increasing collaboration among public organizations, increasing productivity, reducing operation cost, enhancing ICT infrastructure, increasing the exchange of data between organizations, improving the efficiency, fastening the transaction process and response, and developing new skills for employees). Generally, this paper could provide further research with knowledge about regional e-government readiness in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, it provides a comprehensive sight on recognizing the challenges and opportunities of e-government adoption for the benefit of similar nations

Extending IT infrastructures in the service sector organisations through enterprise resource planning – a telecom case study

Copyright @ 2012 ISEing.Service Sector Organisations (SSOs) have significantly focused on adopting and implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems to automate their prime business processes, enhance organisational productivity with lower costs and prompt service delivery to fulfil consumer demands. Thus, ERP systems are considered as a principal source to provide imperative information vital for strategic decision making process. On the contrary, ERP systems adoption and implementation is also highly considered as a challenging and expensive process that not only requires rigorous efforts but also demands to have an exhaustive investigation of influential factors that are critical to the adoption and implementation of ERP systems. As a result, the authors exhibit that it is of great significance to investigate this area within SSOs. In so doing, this paper thus focuses on the ERP critical success factors from five different categories such as: stakeholders; process; technology; organisation; and project based on the literature analysis. These perspectives comprise of 24 factors that are imperative for a successful ERP adoption and implementation. These factors are validated through an in-depth qualitative single case study based research. The findings from the literature and empirical demonstrate that most of the factors influencing the decision making process for ERP adoption and implementation are highly significant with exception to few that have either low or medium importance

E-Government Implementation in Oman: A Comparative Study of Three Public Agencies

The concept of electronic government has established as an effective mechanism for increasing government productivity and efficiency and a key enabler of citizen-centric services. In Gulf countries, public sector transformation efforts are focused towards increasing accessibility, availability, competitive advantage and enhancing services in civil administration. The Sultanate of Oman is one such example of Gulf countries where large investments have been made since 2003 to implement electronic services in the public sector. Using a qualitative research approach, this research attempts to answer the question why the progress of e-government has been slow in some governmental ministries, whereas other ministries have implemented e-government in a successful manner. The paper investigates the improvements that have been made to facilitate these electronic services in three public ministries and their resulting impact within the organisations. The results of the empirical study reveal some of the generic issues faced by the Omani government in implementing e-services and how other specific challenges faced by the individual ministries such as top management support, integration and IT staff skills and capabilities are impeding e-government in the Omani public sector

The Acceptance of National Electronic Health Records in Saudi Arabia: Healthcare Consumers’ Perspectives

This study aims to investigate factors impacting healthcare consumers’ acceptance of National Electronic Health Records (NEHRs) in Saudi Arabia. The study incorporated perceived security concerns and trust factors into the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. A questionnaire survey was distributed among Saudi citizens to gain their perceptions, and 794 valid responses were collected. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to analyse the collected data. Both the measurement model and structural model proved a good fit to the research data. All research hypotheses were supported at the significance level of p \u3c 0.001 except the impact of social influence, which was significant at the level of p \u3c 0.005. The proposed model explained 56% of the variance in behavioural intention, implying the presence of additional factors that are not yet identified. A better understanding of these influential factors could prompt policymakers to effectively plan for and enhance the acceptance and use of NEHRs

A model on factors affecting nurses adoption of health information technology

Healthcare organisations are using Health Information Technology (HIT) to improve efficiency, reduce cost and reduce medical errors. This study focused on the factors that influence the acceptance of HIT among nurses in Saudi hospitals. This research used a 6 stage mixed-methods research approach. Literature was used to search for established models and frameworks of technology acceptance, and the many factors that could play a role. In the field study, the nature of practical HIT issues at the Prince Sultan Military Medical City (PSMMC) and the Heraa Hospital were studied, and combined with literature to create a HIT Implementation Issues Framework. The framework consolidates elements from the Technological, Organisational, Environmental and Human dimensions. The researcher participated in further PSMMC projects in the design and implementation of the new Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation System and the Nurses and Pharmacists’ Communication System. From the implementation experience, pertinent factors were added to the Technology Acceptance Model and the “Nurses Acceptance Model” was proposed. The proposed model has eleven independent parameters, two dependent parameters, as well as seven moderators of key relationships. A questionnaire with 71 entries was distributed to over 2800 nurses in 52 wards in PSMMC. SPSS was used for data screening and descriptive statistics. The SmartPLS software was used for analysis and testing of the proposed hypotheses. The findings refined the “Nurses Acceptance Model” and highlight the significance of User Involvement and Training. The “Nurses Acceptance Model” enhances the scientific understanding of variables that affect technology acceptance among nurses in Saudi hospitals. The HIT Implementation Issues Framework helps hospital decision makers to plan HIT projects to improve the likelihood of successful adoption

Strategies for Cloud Services Adoption in Saudi Arabia

The adoption rate of cloud computing is low among business organizations in Saudi Arabia, despite the cost-saving benefits of using cloud services. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that information technology (IT) leaders in the manufacturing industry in Saudi Arabia used to adopt cloud computing to reduce IT costs. The target population of this study consisted of 5 IT leaders from 5 different manufacturing companies in Saudi Arabia who successfully adopted cloud computing in their companies to reduce IT costs. Rogers\u27s diffusion of innovation theory was the conceptual framework for this research. Data collected from face-to-face, semistructured interviews and a review of relevant corporate documentation were analyzed using Yin\u27s 5-step data analysis method, which included compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding the data. Five themes emerged from the data analysis: identify business needs and requirements, apply value realization metrics, plan for migration, choose the right cloud service provider, and provide adequate training and awareness sessions. The implications of this study for positive social change include the potential to improve the local economy in Saudi Arabia by ensuring the sustainability of firms in the manufacturing industry through the implementation of cost-saving strategies associated with cloud computing adoption