Assessing the Physicians' Acceptance of E-Prescribing in a Developing Country: An Extension of the UTAUT Model With Moderating Effect of Perceived Organizational Support

This article describes how physicians in developing countries spend much time and effort in handling manual prescriptions, which can be easily reduced with the help of online technology. Although different theoretical models for technology acceptance have been thoroughly explored, there is as yet sparse literature regarding its use in the context of healthcare in developing countries, especially with innovative models. To this end, this article uses an integrative model of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) extended by perceived credibility to better understand the acceptance of e-prescribing among physicians in a developing Asian country. In addition, the article uses perceived organizational support as a moderator between behavioral intentions and usage of technology. Using a survey method, the article collects data from 295 physicians in the capital city of Pakistan and analyzes the data through structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate relationships among the identified constructs. The authors' results supply empirical evidence that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, social influence, and perceived credibility all have a positive and significant impact on physicians' behavioral intentions to adopt e-prescribing. The article also concludes that the higher the perceived organizational support, the higher the use of e-prescribing. The study enriches theory and practice by giving implications for both academicians and practitioners.