Assessment of organizational readiness for e-health in a rehabilitation centre.

Purpose: The aims of this study were to assess organizational readiness for e-health among the staff of an out-patient rehabilitation centre and to identify the personal characteristics of potential users that may have influenced readiness.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 137 clinicians, 28 managers, and 47 nonclinical staff in a rehabilitation centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. All participants completed a self-administered questionnaire assessing organizational readiness for e-health. The measure contained three subscales: Individual, Organizational and Technological. Data were also collected on the users' profile, use of technologies and typical response to new information.

Results: Generally, participants considered themselves ready to adopt e-health in their work (X = 73.8%, SD = 8.5) and they also had a favorable view of the technologies in place (X 73.8%, SD = 7.2). However, they perceived the center as being only moderately ready (X 66.6%, SD = 9.8) for e-health changes. Perceived workload and position/duties in the organization were found to have an impact on readiness for e-health.

Conclusions: These results underscore the importance of addressing organizational readiness for change as a multidimensional concept. Based on these results, implementation strategies tailored to the specific profile of a rehabilitation organization were identified.