Title
Healthcare technologies, quality improvement programs and hospital organizational culture in Canadian hospitals
Department/School
Operations and Supply Chain Management; Center for Health and Medical Affairs
Date of this version
2013
Document Type
Article
Keywords
Healthcare technology (HIT), quality improvement
Abstract
Background
Healthcare technology and quality improvement programs have been identified as a means to influence healthcare costs and healthcare quality in Canada. This study seeks to identify whether the ability to implement healthcare technology by a hospital was related to usage of quality improvement programs within the hospital and whether the culture within a hospital plays a role in the adoption of quality improvement programs.
Methods
A cross-sectional study of Canadian hospitals was conducted in 2010. The sample consisted of hospital administrators that were selected by provincial review boards. The questionnaire consisted of 3 sections: 20 healthcare technology items, 16 quality improvement program items and 63 culture items.
Results
Rasch model analysis revealed that a hierarchy existed among the healthcare technologies based upon the difficulty of implementation. The results also showed a significant relationship existed between the ability to implement healthcare technologies and the number of quality improvement programs adopted. In addition, culture within a hospital served a mediating role in quality improvement programs adoption.
Conclusions
Healthcare technologies each have different levels of difficulty. As a consequence, hospitals need to understand their current level of capability before selecting a particular technology in order to assess the level of resources needed. Further the usage of quality improvement programs is related to the ability to implement technology and the culture within a hospital.
Published in
BMC, Health Services Research
Citation/Other Information
13, 1-20. 10.1186/1472.6963-13-413