Effective Factors on continued use of the Picture Archiving and Communication System in Teaching Hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

The evaluation of information systems by health care professionals is one of the key factors for improving the acceptability and usability of systems. Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) is the support for more accurate diagnosis in the medical field. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the factors affecting the continuance of this system in teaching hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences.

This is a descriptive-analytic cross-sectional study conducted in 2014. The sample consisted of 200 PACS users (general practitioners, residents, specialists and radiologists) in Faghihi and Nemazee hospitals of Shiraz. They were selected by stratified random sampling. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire. To confirm the reliability of the questionnaire, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient (84%) was used and 5 experts from health information management were used to confirm the validity of the questionnaire. The results of the present study were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Independent t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient and regression tests) using SPSS 22 software.

The study showed that in selected hospitals according to the model, the highest correlation was found between the relationship between expectation confirmation of and satisfaction (r=0.682; R2=0.465) and the least correlation was related to the relationship between the expectation confirmation and the compatibility (r=0.347; R2=0.120). Also, there was a significant relationship between the level of education of users and the continuance intention to use the PACS system (P=0.008). Radiologists have the highest tendency to continue using the PACS system and the least-favored were specialists.

The results of the research indicate that for continued use of information systems by users and increase their satisfaction and the success of systems, consideration of users' expectations, requirements and technical requirements of systems to fit the system with the tasks of users before implementing information systems is necessary and inevitable.