Diffusion of Computer Applications Among Physicians: A Quasi-Experimental Study

An experimental program involving the use of a hospital information system was implemented and evaluated on four services at Methodist Hospital of Indiana, a 1120-bed, private teaching hospital. Ten other hospital services were assigned to a control group. The program utilized educationally influential physicians to disseminate information concerning the advantages of using predesigned computer-stored personal order sets for the entry of medical orders into a hospital information system. Data from the hospital information system's tapes were collected at three times in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. A multivariate analysis of variance indicated that the program resulted in a significant increase in personal order set use by physicians, physician assistants, and unit secretaries on the experimental services. The results of the study suggest that the identification and use of educationally influential physicians is an effective means of introducing medical innovations into clinical settings. *This research was supported by Grant No. HS05398 from the National Center for Health Services Research and Health Care Technology Assessment.