Adoption phenomena for wireless handheld devices in the healthcare environment.

While prior studies agree that wireless applications have the potential to address some of the data management issues encountered by healthcare, very limited information can be found about the drivers and inhibitors of applications that facilitate data management. Therefore, there is a need to identify the factors that assist in the adoption of wireless applications in healthcare and the factors acting as barriers for the uptake of wireless applications. This research will explore the influence of clinical practices, compatibility, and social demographics on the intention of using wireless handheld devices in the Australian healthcare environment. A survey instrument was developed from the focus group discussion secessions. A total of 373 usable surveys were used to analyse the effects of clinical practices, compatibility, and social demographics on the intention of using wireless handhelds. The initial results provided strong evidence on the factors: Social Demographics, Clinical Practices and Compatibility of Wireless Technology, with the intention of using this technology. The results indicated that Social Demographics was acting as a mediating variable for clinical practices and compatibility in the context of the intention to use wireless handheld devices in the Australian healthcare environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]