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Barriers to Open Source Software Adoption in Quebec’s Health Care Organizations

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Abstract

We conducted in-depth interviews with 15 CIOs to identify the principal impediments to adoption of open source software in the Quebec health sector. We found that key factors for not adopting an open source solution were closely linked to the orientations of ministry level policy makers and a seeming lack of information on the part of operational level IT managers concerning commercially oriented open source providers. We use the case of recent changes in the structure of Quebec’s health care organizations and a change in the commercial policies of a key vendor to illustrate our conclusions regarding barriers to adoption of open source products.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Canada Research Chair in Information Technology in Health Care, HEC Montréal, 3000 Chemin de la Cote-Ste-Catherine, Montreal, Canada, H3T 2A7

    Guy Paré

  2. Information Technology Department, HEC Montréal, Montreal, Canada

    Michael D. Wybo & Charles Delannoy

Authors
  1. Guy Paré
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  2. Michael D. Wybo
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  3. Charles Delannoy
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guy Paré.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Synthesis of literature review

Table 2  
Full size table

Appendix 2: Interview guide

  • Could you please describe the IT infrastructure as well as the main types of computer-based applications in use in your organization?

  • What is the approximate annual budget that is devoted to IT in your organization?

  • How does the IT budget compare to the annual budget of your organization?

  • Could you please describe your organization’s experience with open source solutions?

  • What particular open source solutions are used in your organization?

  • Do you intend to implement other open source solutions in the near future?

  • What are the main barriers to OSS adoption in your organization? Please explain.

  • In your opinion, to what extent do these barriers apply to the broader Quebec health care sector? Please explain.

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Paré, G., Wybo, M.D. & Delannoy, C. Barriers to Open Source Software Adoption in Quebec’s Health Care Organizations. J Med Syst 33, 1–7 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-008-9158-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-008-9158-4

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