| Healthcare innovations enabled by information communication technologies (ICT) could lead to higher quality care and reduced cost. The factors that influence the development of innovations in healthcare organizations are, however, not well understood. The purpose of this study was to identify and evaluate these factors through the perspectives of innovation experts or stakeholders at the eHealth Research Center (eHRC) in a Canadian hospital. The primary research questions were to compare the factors identified by the stakeholders with those identified in literature, as well as to examine the agreement among the stakeholders on the importance assigned by them to these factors. Research on innovation and organization behavior provided the theoretical foundation for this study. The Delphi technique was used to elicit opinion and consensus among 37 innovation experts at the Center over 27 factors influencing ICT innovations. Descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests were used to analyze the Delphi identified factors and compare them with similar factors identified in literature. Results showed that the experts were generally in agreement with their factor ranks, although they differed significantly over self-governance, group decision making, government and agency regulations, and organizational policies and procedures as influencing factors. Social change implications of the study include accelerating healthcare innovations, improved healthcare delivery through timely detection and treatment of illness, lower healthcare cost, and generally a better quality of life for all. |
