Do Organisational Characteristics Explain The Differences Between Drivers of ICT Adoption in Rural and Urban General Practices in Australia?

Abstract

A number of studies have compared general medical practices in rural locations with those in urban locations. Some of these studies have concentrated on the reasons why a GP might choose to work in a rural or urban setting. Others have examined the type of work required to be undertaken by medical professionals. Increasing use of information and communications technology (ICT) in medical practices has led to some studies examining their use in rural as well as urban settings. However, little if any research has examined whether ICT adoption drivers differ between rural and urban GPs based on their organisational characteristics. This paper presents a study of 198 GPs (122 rural, 76 urban) in Australia. The results show that organisational characteristics are associated with the importance of the drivers for ICT adoption and that these characteristics differ between rural and urban GPs. These findings have important practical and theoretical contributions because it shows that ICT adoption decisions must be contextualised and that it is unlikely that universal adoption drivers will apply to all general practices.