The acceptance of a computerised decision-support system in primary care: A preliminary investigation

Within the framework of technology acceptance modelling (Davis 1993), this study investigated the acceptance of a computerised decision-support system in primary care. Thirty general practitioners (GP) completed a questionnaire that detailed potential advantages of the system. A majority (70%) of GPs intended to use the system with a 2-min increase in consultation times (for proportion of GPs intending to use, CI_0.95 = [0.54; 0.85]) and eight advantages of the system were predictors of intention to use (R_L² = 0.51, p < 0.05). However, a majority (77%) did not intend to use the system with a 5-min increase in consultation time (CI_0.95 = [0.12; 0.42]). Further-more, a majority of 90% preferred the system to be used by non-physicians (CI_0.95 = [0.78; 0.98]). These results confirm relationships between acceptance factors in a new domain, but most importantly they indicate the need to consider the balance of perceived advantages, or benefits, and disadvantages, or costs, of a new system in technology acceptance modelling. Implications for the design of a prototype system and further research are discussed.