The Digital Transformation of Swedish SUD Treatment : A Qualitative Case Study of Nine Clinics

This study explores the digital transformation of substance use disorder (SUD)treatment within the context of Swedish healthcare, focusing on how digital solutions are being implemented and perceived by the users. Despite the increase of digital solutions being adopted in healthcare, the SUD treatment sector has fallen behind and has progressed comparatively slowly. By partnering with an organisation that provides a digital solution designed for monitoring patients' sobriety levels and mood, this research investigated how their users in Swedish SUD treatment clinics make sense of and adopt the digital solution and what the challenges have been during the implementation process. Grounded in a qualitative research design, the study uses semi-structured interviews and applies a thematic analysis led by both the Technology Acceptance Model(TAM) and Normalization Process Theory(NPT). The coding was done through a mixed methods approach where both deductive and inductive coding were utilised to capture both theory-driven themes and otherimportant ones which did not directly cohere to the theories. The analysis revealed that there was low perceived usefulness and ease of use during the early stages of implementation, which created resistance, mitigated by internal champions who advocated for the digital solution. Organisational readiness, staff engagement, and contextual adaptability were identified as key success factors. The findings also indicate that long-term sustainability depends on distributed ownership, ongoing support, and alignment with existing clinical workflows. By highlighting the social and institutional dynamics of digital transformation in SUD care, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the challenges and enablers for implementing digital solutions in Swedish healthcare settings.The results provide practical implications for both solution providers and SUD treatment clinics with the goal of implementing a new digital solution such as the one used for this study