Abstract:
Fisher and Paykel Healthcare is an innovative medical device company based in New Zealand and their objective is to develop medical device innovations that lead to better patient care and outcomes and develop new global standards of care. The challenge is that adopting new medical device innovations also involves the need to adopt changes in clinical practice (CCP) for clinicians, and they can be resistant to change. The purpose of this study is to increase understanding of how clinicians adopt new medical devices which change their clinical practices. The research design involves a qualitative, explorative case study. Participants included 15 Anaesthetists from New Zealand and Australia who were interviewed. The participants were asked to discuss previous experiences they had on adoption and rejection of CCP associated with medical device innovations. Drawing on Roger's diffusion of innovation theory, this study identifies many dimensions influencing the adoption of new medical devices that changes clinical practice. More specifically, the research identified that clinicians gain knowledge through sources including diffusion among colleagues, departmental meetings, conferences, lectures and workshops, and clinical evidence. Additionally, the study highlights a number of important drivers, such as improved perceived characteristics of the innovation and positive characteristics of the decision-making unit. Moreover, the factors that affect the rate of adoption include social influence, characteristics of the CCP and level of training and familiarity. Finally, the reasons why clinicians reject CCP are related to characteristics of the CCP, personal variables, risks associated with the new practice, lack of access to the device to perform the new practice and differing patient needs.
