Paper Type
Complete
Paper Number
PACIS2026-1443
Description
Digital technologies increasingly reshape how healthcare work is organised, coordinated, and governed, yet existing human-in-the-loop and digital health studies often focus on task performance, accuracy, adoption, or implementation rather than how agency shifts across clinical work episodes. This study conducts a systematic literature review of 169 empirical studies to examine how control, oversight, and responsibility are distributed between healthcare professionals, digital systems, and organisations. Drawing on sociotechnical perspectives, fluid agency, and the Information Control Adaptation Structure framework, the review identifies three recurring digital-human configurations: human-led, hybrid, and system-led. The findings show that these configurations are not fixed automation levels, but dynamic patterns of agency redistribution shaped by task risk, system reliability, organisational rules, and governance safeguards. The study contributes a multilevel account of fluid agency across organisational, configuration, and episode levels in digitally mediated healthcare work.
Recommended Citation
Singh, Harneet and Hassandoust, Farkhondeh, "Digital-Human Configurations in Healthcare: A Systematic Review of Fluid Agency and Technology Integration" (2026). PACIS 2026 Proceedings. 6.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2026/ishealthcare/ishealthcare/6
Digital-Human Configurations in Healthcare: A Systematic Review of Fluid Agency and Technology Integration
Digital technologies increasingly reshape how healthcare work is organised, coordinated, and governed, yet existing human-in-the-loop and digital health studies often focus on task performance, accuracy, adoption, or implementation rather than how agency shifts across clinical work episodes. This study conducts a systematic literature review of 169 empirical studies to examine how control, oversight, and responsibility are distributed between healthcare professionals, digital systems, and organisations. Drawing on sociotechnical perspectives, fluid agency, and the Information Control Adaptation Structure framework, the review identifies three recurring digital-human configurations: human-led, hybrid, and system-led. The findings show that these configurations are not fixed automation levels, but dynamic patterns of agency redistribution shaped by task risk, system reliability, organisational rules, and governance safeguards. The study contributes a multilevel account of fluid agency across organisational, configuration, and episode levels in digitally mediated healthcare work.
Comments
14-Healthcare