Digital Transformation in Indonesia’s Primary Healthcare: Navigating Regulatory Pressure and Perceived Threats in Electronic Medical Records Adoption

Aims: This study explore the dynamics of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) adoption and use in primary healthcare facilities in Indonesia. It specifically examines the role of regulatory pressure and perceived technological threats within the framework of mandatory national health policies.
Material and Methods: A multisite cross-sectional survey was conducted among 688 healthcare workers from 27 community health centers in Bantul Regency, Indonesia. The study utilizes an analytical framework incorporating regulatory pressure, perceived threat, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, behavioral intention, and actual use, analyzed through structural equation modeling.
Findings: The analysis reveals that perceptions of utility, ease of use, and organizational support play a vital role in shaping the intention to adopt EMRs. Regulatory pressure emerges as a primary driver that shapes facility readiness and practitioners’ psychological response, directly strengthening behavioral intention. Notably, actual system usage is driven by the synergy between regulatory mandates and institutional readiness.
Conclusion: Successful digital transformation in primary healthcare requires coherence among regulatory enforcement, institutional readiness, and the adaptive responses of healthcare workers to technological change.