Dive Brief:
- A new study by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, sponsored by Verizon, concludes that early technology adopters are more likely to lead in revenue growth and market position, but that healthcare organizations are less likely to seize that advantage.
- According to researchers, only 27% of healthcare organizations are early technology adopters, compared with 36% that buy new technology after others have proven its benefits and 35% that wait until a technology has become well-established.
- When healthcare organizations do adopt technology, it often creates significant changes in the business, including changes to strategy and business models, responsiveness to customers, internal collaboration, employee productivity and data security.
Dive Insight:
According to researchers, healthcare organizations seem to lag behind other industries when it comes to technology adoption for a number of reasons, but among the largest was such firms' aversion to risk. According to Robert Pearl, M.D., writing for Forbes, fear of technology slowing processes down rather than speeding them up may also be behind healthcare's cautious approach to adopting new technology. Many hospitals have complained of that phenomenon in the adoption of EMRs.
On the other hand, the study did note that healthcare firms have been receptive to jumping into mobile technology adoption despite its relatively immature status. That may be in part because doctors are using mobile apps voluntarily and have shown enthusiasm for mobile devices. In fact, a Deloitte study of US physicians released this year found that nine out of 10 respondents were interested in mHealth technology that has clinical value.