Impact of information technology culture conflict on meaningful use of electronic health records system: A conceptual framework

Barriers to the adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems have been well documented. Researchers and practitioners agree that the benefits of EHR systems are contingent on Meaningful Use (MU) of EHR. However, most research on the barriers to MU (set of standards defined by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) is a theoretical and anecdotal. Given that (i) research on MU shows that physicians and nurses (users) resist MU despite recognizing its potential benefits, and (ii) theories related to IS use and user resistance take a rationalistic view (focused on perceived benefits), there is a need to view the barriers to MU from an alternate lens. This study argues that resistance to MU is due to the conflict between user groups' personal values, IT values and EHR systems related values and hence, uses the IT Culture Conflict theory to understand user resistance to MU. Implications for research and practice are discussed.