The Influence of IS Affordances on Work Practices in Health Care: A Relational Coordination Approach
Start Date
14-12-2012 12:00 AM
Description
High-reliability healthcare organizations, such as Intensive Care Units, operate in challenging high-velocity environments regarding decision-making, uncertainty, and time constraints. Further, these organizations are multidisciplinary, professionally driven, and characterized by a strong hierarchical structure. Given such conditions, effective cross-functional communication is critical for ensuring successful work practices. We propose a theoretical model of IS affordances and Relational Coordination in the presence of functional status differences. We establish a set of propositions regarding how use patterns and types of IS affordances enable or constrain potential effects on Relational Coordination. We are currently conducting a case study of an ICU in a major University hospital, with the goal to iteratively refine our theory and propositions. We hope that this research will offer an in-depth understanding of the types of opportunities related to information systems, and the role of individual-level interpretations and actions across functional groups for these opportunities.
Recommended Citation
Sebastian, Ina Maria and Bui, Tung, "The Influence of IS Affordances on Work Practices in Health Care: A Relational Coordination Approach" (2012). ICIS 2012 Proceedings. 100.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2012/proceedings/ResearchInProgress/100
The Influence of IS Affordances on Work Practices in Health Care: A Relational Coordination Approach
High-reliability healthcare organizations, such as Intensive Care Units, operate in challenging high-velocity environments regarding decision-making, uncertainty, and time constraints. Further, these organizations are multidisciplinary, professionally driven, and characterized by a strong hierarchical structure. Given such conditions, effective cross-functional communication is critical for ensuring successful work practices. We propose a theoretical model of IS affordances and Relational Coordination in the presence of functional status differences. We establish a set of propositions regarding how use patterns and types of IS affordances enable or constrain potential effects on Relational Coordination. We are currently conducting a case study of an ICU in a major University hospital, with the goal to iteratively refine our theory and propositions. We hope that this research will offer an in-depth understanding of the types of opportunities related to information systems, and the role of individual-level interpretations and actions across functional groups for these opportunities.