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.

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Dec 14th, 12:00 AM

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.