Sociotechnical systems view work as the interaction between people, technology, processes and organizations. This document discusses sociotechnical aspects of health informatics including how technology impacts social and clinical environments, and how systems should be designed to improve health and healthcare through human-computer interactions. It also highlights the importance of considering people, organizational issues, workflows and unintended consequences when implementing health IT systems.

1. Sociotechnical
Aspect of
Health Informatics
Nawanan Theera-Ampornpunt, MD, PhD
Except where
citing other works August 22, 2012

2. Sociotechnical Systems
• Coined in 1960s by Eric Trist, Ken Bamforth &
Fred Emery
• “An approach to complex organizational work
design that recognizes the interaction
between people and technology in
workplaces.” (Wikipedia)
• “Interaction between society's complex
infrastructures and human behaviour.”
(Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociotechnical_system 2

3. People-Process-Technology
Technology
People Process
3

4. “People & Organizational Issues” (POI)
• POI focuses on interactions between people
and technology, including designing,
implementing, and deploying safe and usable
health information systems and technology.
• AMIA POIWG addresses issues such as
– How systems change us and our social and clinical
environments
– How we should change them
– What we need to do to take the fullest advantage of
them to improve [...] health and health care.
– Our members strive to understand,
evaluate, and improve human-computer
and socio-technical interactions.
http://www.amia.org/programs/working-groups/people-and-organizational-issues 4

5. “People & Organizational Issues” (POI)
• We bring varied perspectives, methods, and tools
from
– Humanities, Social science, Cognitive science
– Computer science and informatics
– Business disciplines
– Patient safety
– Workflow
– Collaborative work and decision-making
– Human-computer interaction & Usability
– Human factors
– Project and change management
– Adoption and diffusion of innovations
– Unintended consequences
– Policy.
http://www.amia.org/programs/working-groups/people-and-organizational-issues 5

6. Common Themes in Informatics
Produced based on speaker’s personal opinion. Not based on real raw data. 6

7. Health IT Successes & Failures
Kaplan & Harris-Salamone (2009) 7

8. Health IT Successes & Failures
What success is
• Different ideas and definitions of success
• Need more understanding of different stakeholder
views & more longitudinal and qualitative studies
of failure
What makes it so hard
• Communication, Workflow, & Quality
• Difficulties of communicating across different
groups makes it harder to identify requirements
and understand workflow
Kaplan & Harris-Salamone (2009) 8

9. Health IT Successes & Failures
What We Know—Lessons from Experience
• Provide incentives, remove disincentives
• Identify and mitigate risks
• Allow resources and time for training, exposure,
and learning to input data
• Learn from the past and from others
Kaplan & Harris-Salamone (2009) 9

10. Health IT Successes & Failures
Leviss (Editor)
(2010)
10

11. Health IT Change Management
Lorenzi & Riley (2000) 11

12. Health IT Change Management
Lorenzi & Riley (2000) 12

13. Health IT Change Management
Lorenzi & Riley (2000) 13

14. Health IT Change Management
Lorenzi & Riley (2000) 14

15. Considerations for a successful
implementation of CPOE
Considerations
Motivation for implementation
CPOE vision, leadership, and personnel
Costs
Integration: Workflow, health care processes
Value to users/Decision support systems
Project management and staging of implementation
Technology
Training and Support 24 x 7
Learning/Evaluation/Improvement
Ash et al. (2003) 15

16. Minimizing MD’s Change Resistance
• Involve physician champions
• Create a sense of ownership through
communications & involvement
• Understand their values
• Be attentive to climate in the organization
• Provide adequate training & support
Riley & Lorenzi (1995) 16

17. Reasons for User Involvement
• Better understanding of needs & requirements
• Leveraging user expertise about their tasks &
how organization functions
• Assess importance of specific features for
prioritization
• Users better understand project, develop realistic
expectations
• Venues for negotiation, conflict resolution
• Sense of ownership
• Pare & Sicotte (2006): Physician ownership
important for clinical information systems
Ives & Olson (1984) 17

18. The Missing Piece in IT Adoption
Technological Sophistication
Functional Sophistication
Integration Sophistication
Managerial Sophistication
Proposed Addition
Theera-Ampornpunt (2011) 18

19. Critical Success Factors in Health IT Projects
Communications of plans & progresses
Physician & non-physician user involvement
Attention to workflow changes
Well-executed project management
Adequate user training
Organizational learning
Organizational innovativeness
Theera-Ampornpunt (2011) 19

20. Theory of Hospital Adoption of
Information Systems (THAIS)
Theera-Ampornpunt (2011) 20

21. The “Special People”
Ash et al. (2003) 21

22. The “Special People”
• Administrative – CIO
Leadership Level • Selects champions
• Gains support
– CEO • Possesses vision
• Provides top • Maintains a thick skin
level support and – CMIO
vision • Interprets
• Possesses vision
• Holds steadfast • Maintains a thick skin
• Connects with • Influences peers
the staff • Supports the clinical
support staff
• Listens • Champions
• Champions
Ash et al. (2003) 22

23. The “Special People”
• Clinical Leadership – Curmudgeons
Level • “Skeptic who is
usually quite vocal
– Champions in his or her disdain
• Necessary of the system”
• Hold steadfast • Provide feedback
• Influence peers • Furnish leadership
• Understand other – Clinical advisory
physicians
committees
– Opinion leaders • Solve problems
• Provide a balanced • Connect units
view
• Influence peers
Ash et al. (2003) 23

24. The “Special People”
• Bridger/Support level – Skills
– Trainers & • Possess clinical
support team backgrounds
• Necessary • Gain skills on the
job
• Provide help at the • Show patience,
elbow tenacity, and
• Make changes assertiveness
• Provide training
• Test the systems
Ash et al. (2003) 24

25. Unintended Consequences of Health IT
• “Unanticipated and unwanted effect of
health IT implementation” (ucguide.org)
• Must-read resources
– www.ucguide.org
– Ash et al. (2004)
– Campbell et al. (2006)
– Koppel et al. (2005)
25

26. Unintended Consequences of Health IT
Ash et al. (2004) 26

27. Unintended Consequences of Health IT
• Errors in the process of entering and
retrieving information
– A human-computer interface that is not suitable
for a highly interruptive use context
– Causing cognitive overload by
overemphasizing structured and “complete”
information entry or retrieval
• Structure
• Fragmentation
• Overcompleteness
Ash et al. (2004) 27

28. Unintended Consequences of Health IT
• Errors in the communication and
coordination process
– Misrepresenting collective, interactive work as
a linear, clearcut, and predictable workflow
• Inflexibility
• Urgency
• Workarounds
• Transfers of patients
– Misrepresenting communication as information
transfer
• Loss of communication
• Loss of feedback
• Decision support overload
• Catching errors
Ash et al. (2004) 28

29. Unintended Consequences of Health IT
• Errors in the communication and
coordination process
– Misrepresenting collective, interactive work as
a linear, clearcut, and predictable workflow
• Inflexibility
• Urgency
• Workarounds
• Transfers of patients
– Misrepresenting communication as information
transfer
• Loss of communication
• Loss of feedback
• Decision support overload
• Catching errors
Ash et al. (2004) 29

30. Unintended Consequences of Health IT
Campbell et al. (2006) 30

31. Unintended Consequences of Health IT
Campbell et al. (2006) 31

32. Unintended Consequences of Health IT
Koppel et al. (2005) 32

33. Unintended Consequences of Health IT
Koppel et al. (2005) 33

34. Door #1
How do I open
the door?
34
From University of Minnesota CS 5115 User interface design class (2008) by Loren Terveen 34

35. Door #2
How do I open
the door?
35
From University of Minnesota CS 5115 User interface design class (2008) by Loren Terveen 35

36. Back to door #1
Door #1
36
From University of Minnesota CS 5115 User interface design class (2008) by Loren Terveen 36

37. Back to door #2
Door #2
37
From University of Minnesota CS 5115 User interface design class (2008) by Loren Terveen 37

38. How do I open
the door?
Door #3
38
From University of Minnesota CS 5115 User interface design class (2008) by Loren Terveen 38

39. Door #3
No instructions needed!
39
From University of Minnesota CS 5115 User interface design class (2008) by Loren Terveen 39

40. Design Principles
• “Instructions/explanations are a sign of
failure!”
• Visibility
• Affordances
• Promoting recognition over recall
From University of Minnesota CS 5115 User interface design class (2008) by Loren Terveen 40

41. Human-Computer Interaction
• “A discipline concerned with the design,
evaluation and implementation of
interactive computing systems for human
use”
design
evaluation implementation
• Interdisciplinary
– Computer Science; Psychology; Sociology;
Anthropology; Visual and Industrial Design; …
From University of Minnesota CS 5115 User interface design class (2008) by Loren Terveen 41

42. Foundations of UI Design (1)
• Human psychology
– Short-term & long-term memory
– Problem-solving
– Attention
• Design principles
– Conceptual models; knowledge in the world;
visibility; feedback; mappings; constraints;
affordances
42
From University of Minnesota CS 5115 User interface design class (2008) by Loren Terveen 42

43. Foundations of UI Design (2)
• Understanding users and tasks
– Tasks, task analysis, scenarios
– Contextual inquiry
– Personas
• User-centered design
– Low, medium, and high-fidelity prototypes
– visual design principles
• Evaluating designs
– Without users: cognitive walkthroughs; heuristic
evaluation; action analysis
– With users: qualitative and quantitative methods
43
From University of Minnesota CS 5115 User interface design class (2008) by Loren Terveen 43

44. Human Factors
• “The study of designing equipment and
devices that fit the human body and its
cognitive abilities” (Wikipedia)
• Also known as “Ergonomics”
• Specialties
– Physical ergonomics
– Cognitive ergonomics (including HCI)
– Organizational ergonomics (including
workplace design)
– Environmental ergonomics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_factors_and_ergonomics 44

45. Usability
• “Refers to how well users can learn and
use a product to achieve their goals and
how satisfied they are with that process”
(Usability.gov)
• “The ease of use and learnability of a
human-made object” (Wikipedia)
• “The extent to which a product can be used
by specified users to achieve specified
goals with effectiveness, efficiency, and
satisfaction in a specified context of use
(ISO)
• Key methodology: user-centered design
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability 45

46. Usability & Usable Systems
• Usefulness = Usability + Utility (Jakob Nielsen)
• Dimensions of usability
– Learnability: How easy it is for users to accomplish
basic tasks the first time?
– Efficiency: Once learned, how quickly can users
perform tasks?
– Memorability: When returned after a period of non-
use, how easily can users re-establish proficiency?
– Errors: Frequency, severity, recoverability
– Satisfaction: How pleasant it is to use?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030825.html 46

47. User Experience
• “The way a person feels about using a
product, system or service” (Wikipedia)
• Focuses on the feelings and perceptions of
users
• Subjective
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_experience 47

48. http://www.msn.com/ 48

49. http://www.google.com/ 49

50. HCI & Usability Resources
• Usability.gov
• Useit.com
• Edwardtufte.com
• National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST)
– http://www.nist.gov/healthcare/usability/index
.cfm
– Technical Evaluation, Testing, and Validation
of the Usability of Electronic Health Records
– NIST Guide to the Processes Approach for
Improving the Usability of Electronic Health
Records
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_experience 50

51. “Most people make the mistake of thinking
design is what it looks like. People think
it’s this veneer – that the designers are
handed this box and told, ‘Make it look
good!’ That’s not what we think design is.
It’s not just what it looks like and feels like.
Design is how it works.” – Steve Jobs
Image Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs

52. References
• Ash JS, Berg M, Coiera E. Some unintended consequences of information
technology in health care: the nature of patient care information system-
related errors. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2004 Mar-Apr;11(2):104-12.
• Ash JS, Stavri PZ, Dykstra R, Fournier L. Implementing computerized
physician order entry: the importance of special people. Int J Med Inform.
2003 Mar; 69(2-3):235-50.
• Ash JS, Stavri PZ, Kuperman GJ. A consensus statement on considerations
for a successful CPOE implementation. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2003 May-
Jun;10(3):229-34.
• Campbell, EM, Sittig DF, Ash JS, et al. Types of Unintended Consequences
Related to Computerized Provider Order Entry. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2006
Sep-Oct; 13(5): 547-556.
• Ives B, Olson MH. User involvement and MIS success: a review of research.
Manage Sci. 1984 May;30(5):586-603.
• Kaplan B, Harris-Salamone KD. Health IT success and failure:
recommendations from the literature and an AMIA workshop. J Am Med
Inform Assoc. 2009 May-Jun;16(3):291-9.
52

53. References
• Koppel R, Metlay JP, Cohen A, Abaluck B, Localio AR, Kimmel SE, Strom BL.
Role of computerized physician order entry systems in facilitating medication
errors. JAMA. 2005 Mar 9;293(10):1197-203.
• Lorenzi NM, Riley RT. Managing change: an overview. J Am Med Inform
Assoc. 2000 Mar-Apr;7(2):116-24.
• Paré G, Sicotte C, Jacques H. The effects of creating psychological
ownership on physicians’ acceptance of clinical information systems. J Am
Med Inform Assoc. 2006 Mar-Apr;13(2):197-205.
• Riley RT, Lorenzi NM. Gaining physician acceptance of information
technology systems. Med Interface. 1995 Nov;8(11):78-80, 82-3.
• Theera-Ampornpunt N. Thai hospitals' adoption of information technology: a
theory development and nationwide survey [dissertation]. Minneapolis (MN):
University of Minnesota; 2011 Dec. 376 p.
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