2007

Workflow across organizational borders

Background

There is an increased pressure on health care providers, regarding efficiency as well as quality. Accordingly, there are reiterating ambitions of streamlining health care through notions such as shared care, integrated care, and continuity of care. Continuity of care requires a high degree of interaction and communication between the different organizational levels of the health care system. A system for electronic ordering of laboratory services from primary care to hospital laboratories is under development and implementation in the Norwegian health care system. The system is developed by Well Diagnostics in cooperation with UNN. It is currently being commercialised and implementation in several hospitals in Norway is planned.

Goals

The intention with electronic requisitions of laboratory services is to improve the work- and information flow, hence increase quality and reduce workload. The planned large scale implementation of the system at UNN and AHus will enable empirical data that will make it possible to study a wide range of questions regarding the work and information flow and cooperation/interaction between the actors in different health care organisations before and after implementation. The continuous development of the system will make it possible to study the development process as well as the interaction between vendor and users. The main aim of the project is to examine and produce further knowledge on the processes of designing and implementing information systems for collaboration in health care across organisational borders. The study will also identify the impact of such systems on interaction and work processes.

Proposed research questions/issues:

User involvement in the development process. How does that play out in practice?
Exploration of relevant quality aspects. Can electronic ordering increase the quality of the interaction between different actors in health care?
Interactive information technology in health care. How will that change the interaction between the different actors involved in health care?

Method

The research method will be founded on an interpretive approach, basically including interviews and participant observation of the implementation and use of electronic requisitions. Different general practitioners offices and laboratories in at the University Hospital of North Norway will serve as research sites. The candidates will be part of the Well Diagnostics development team.