Guidelines to encourage the adoption and meaningful use of health information technologies in the South African healthcare landscape.

There are various benefits associated with the adoption and meaningful use of health information technologies (HITs) in the healthcare sector. Despite these benefits, the South African healthcare sector has been slow to adopt HITs such as electronic record systems. The purpose of this research project was to formulate guidelines to encourage the adoption and meaningful use of HITs in the South African healthcare landscape. A three-round Delphi study was conducted to identify factors that should be addressed to encourage the adoption and meaningful use of HITs in the South African healthcare landscape. The Delphi panel included 21 participants that were considered to be suitably knowledgeable regarding the area under consideration. Consensus was reached on 42 factors that were rated as having a direct to significant impact on the adoption and meaningful use of HITs in the South African context. These factors were further analysed to formulate 20 guidelines that indicate that there are a wide range of factors that would have to be addressed involving a multitude of stakeholders.