Use of the Equity Implementation Model to Review Clinical System Implementation Efforts

This paper presents the equity implementation model (EIM) in the context of a case that describes the implementation of a medical scheduling system. The model is based on equity theory, a well-established theory in the social sciences that has been tested in hundreds of experimental and field studies. The predictions of equity theory have been supported in organizational, societal, family, and other social settings. Thus, the EIM helps provide a theory-based understanding for collecting and reviewing users' reactions to, and acceptance or rejection of, a new technology or system. The case study (implementation of a patient scheduling and appointment setting system in a large health maintenance organization) illustrates how the EIM can be used to examine users' reactions to the implementation of a new system.