Determinants of blockchain technology application in primary healthcare delivery: An integrated best-worst approach

Abstract

Primary healthcare (PHC) has become a concern in most resource constraint economies particularly in the global south where meeting this important economic need has become a burden. Given this, blockchain technology (BT), a promising transformation in contemporary service delivery, has become an alternative for service-oriented institutions to meet their desired goals. In primary healthcare, BT has been utilised to lessen the burden on medical supply chain and data management. Nonetheless, the technology seems to be a preserve of the developed economies. In the global south, not only has the complexities of the technology hindered the implementation of the technology but the understanding of its affordances has also been nascent. This study extends Task-technology fit model with the perceived e-readiness model. Drawing on the best-worst method, this paper investigates PHC managers’ decision to embrace BT for PHC delivery in Ghana. The study finds that, in order of relevance, task-technology, infrastructure and individual characteristics are the main drivers of BT adoption and implementation. The study proposes the implementation of various strategies relevant to ensuring a sustainable BT for the management of PHC in resource constraint economies.

Keywords:

• blockchain
• best-worst
• primary healthcare
• MCDM
• TTF
• PERM

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

The emergence of blockchain technology (BT) has revolutionized the digital transformation of healthcare delivery. It has the propensity to mitigate the prolonged resource constraints in the healthcare ecosystem, particularly in primary healthcare delivery, which is the first point of call for the majority of healthcare seekers in Ghana. This study explored the determinants of BT and how it could be applied in Ghana’s PHC delivery to mitigate resource constraints. Based on the 24 sub-attributes segmented into 5 main dimensions, it emerged that technological factors were the most relevant determinant. Specifically, BT technical knowledge was the most important technological task that could drive blockchain application in PHC delivery in Ghana. Strategies such as awareness creation, standardization and reducing the complexity of the blockchain are needed to mitigate the implementation challenges. The implication of this study is far-reaching given the need to meet the rising healthcare demands amidst acute resource allocation in Ghana

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work is partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 72071030), the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2020YFB1711900), the Planning Fund for the Humanities and Social Sciences of Ministry of Education of China (No. 19YJA630042) and the Social Science Planning Project of the Sichuan Province (No. SC20C007).

Notes on contributors

Sulemana Bankuoru Egala

Sulemana Bankuoru Egala is a Doctoral researcher in data mining and information management at the School of Management and Economics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu, China. He is currently an Assistant Lecturer with the Department of Informatics, Faculty of ICT at the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS), Wa, Upper West, Region, Ghana.

Decui Liang

Decui Liang received the B.S. degree in information management and information system and the Ph.D. degree in management science and engineering from Southwest Jiaotong University, China, in 2008 and 2013, respectively. In 2012, he was a visiting Ph.D. student with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.

Adjei Peter Darko

Adjei Peter Darko holds a PhD in Management Science and Engineering with specialization in MCDM analysis and optimization techniques. He is currently a post-doctorial researcher at the Psychology Department of Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321000, China.

Dorcas Boateng

Dorcas Boateng holds a BSc in Computer Science and MPhil in MIS. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Information Systems at the Operations and MIS Department of the University of Ghana Business School. Her career objective is to conduct outstanding academic research, publish in premier academic journals, excel in the classroom and community service.

Haleem Yahaya

Haleem Yahaya is a research fellow with the Faculty of ICT, SD Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS), Wa, Ghana. His research interest is in digital governance and information management.