Health: IT leader or laggard? A comparative assessment of IT maturity

Abstract

The health industry has acquired a reputation as lagging in the use of IT. This reputation is usually based upon the relatively narrow measure of comparative IT expenditure, often examined as a proportion of total revenue. This study has been undertaken to assess health's use of IT using a broader frame of reference. The health industry was compared to the banking industry, on the basis that the banking industry is widely perceived as a leading IT user. The research confirmed that in these two 'knowledge' industries, health is slower to adopt IT with an apparent lower maturity level. This was the case across a range of best practice management, procedural and cultural topics as well as in the level of resources applied to IT.