Why Using Actor Network Theory (ANT) Can Help to Understand the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) in Australia

Author(s):  
Imran Muhammad ◽  
Say Yen Teoh ◽  
Nilmini Wickramasinghe

Globally, healthcare reforms are being initiated to address the tremendous challenges facing healthcare systems. Without exception these reforms include the implementation of a variety of e-health solutions. Such e-health solutions are complex and have far reaching implications. In this paper, the authors argue that while these implementations and adoptions of e-health solutions are necessary, it is essential that an appropriate lens of analysis should be used to maximise and sustain the benefits of IS/IT (information systems/information technology) in healthcare delivery. Hence, in this paper, the authors proffer Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as an appropriate lens to evaluate these various e-health solutions and illustrate, in the context of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR), the chosen e-health solution for Australia.

2016 ◽  
pp. 1320-1337
Author(s):  
Imran Muhammad ◽  
Nilmini Wickramasinghe

Australia has designed, developed, and now implemented its national e-health solution known as the Personally Controlled Electronic Healthcare Record (PCEHR). This is a unique system as it subscribes to a shared governance model between patients and providers. To date, though, as with other national e-health solutions, there is poor uptake and much concern regarding the success of this multi-million dollar project. The authors contend that while these implementations and adoptions of e-health solutions are necessary, it is essential that an appropriate lens of analysis should be used in order to maximise and sustain the benefits of Information Systems/Information Technology (IS/IT) in healthcare delivery. Hence, in this chapter, the authors proffer Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as an appropriate lens to evaluate these various e-health solutions and illustrate in the context of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR), the chosen e-health solution for Australia.


Author(s):  
Imran Muhammad ◽  
Nilmini Wickramasinghe

Australia has designed, developed, and now implemented its national e-health solution known as the Personally Controlled Electronic Healthcare Record (PCEHR). This is a unique system as it subscribes to a shared governance model between patients and providers. To date, though, as with other national e-health solutions, there is poor uptake and much concern regarding the success of this multi-million dollar project. The authors contend that while these implementations and adoptions of e-health solutions are necessary, it is essential that an appropriate lens of analysis should be used in order to maximise and sustain the benefits of Information Systems/Information Technology (IS/IT) in healthcare delivery. Hence, in this chapter, the authors proffer Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as an appropriate lens to evaluate these various e-health solutions and illustrate in the context of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR), the chosen e-health solution for Australia.


2015 ◽  
pp. 1123-1138
Author(s):  
Imran Muhammad ◽  
Say Yen Teoh ◽  
Nilmini Wickramasinghe

Healthcare systems around the globe are facing a number of challenges. Thus Increasing focus is being placed on constructing appropriate healthcare reforms which are attempting to address how to tackle these challenges. A critical enabler in these reforms is the adoption of an e-health solution. Such e-health solutions are not only expensive and complex endeavours, but also have far reaching implications. Given that the implementation and adoption of these e-health solutions is so important, not to mention also requiring a substantial investment in various resources such as time and money, it is therefore essential to ensure their success. The following proffers a socio-technical analysis as an appropriate strategy to ensure more successful outcomes. An exemplar case study of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR), the chosen e-health solution by the Australian government is provided to illustrate the benefits such an analysis might provide


2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imran Muhammad ◽  
Say Yen Teoh ◽  
Nilmini Wickramasinghe

Healthcare systems around the globe are facing a number of challenges. Thus Increasing focus is being placed on constructing appropriate healthcare reforms which are attempting to address how to tackle these challenges. A critical enabler in these reforms is the adoption of an e-health solution. Such e-health solutions are not only expensive and complex endeavours, but also have far reaching implications. Given that the implementation and adoption of these e-health solutions is so important, not to mention also requiring a substantial investment in various resources such as time and money, it is therefore essential to ensure their success. The following proffers a socio-technical analysis as an appropriate strategy to ensure more successful outcomes. An exemplar case study of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR), the chosen e-health solution by the Australian government is provided to illustrate the benefits such an analysis might provide


2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-22
Author(s):  
Rosemary Griffin

National legislation is in place to facilitate reform of the United States health care industry. The Health Care Information Technology and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) offers financial incentives to hospitals, physicians, and individual providers to establish an electronic health record that ultimately will link with the health information technology of other health care systems and providers. The information collected will facilitate patient safety, promote best practice, and track health trends such as smoking and childhood obesity.


Author(s):  
Huda Ibrahim ◽  
Hasmiah Kasimin

An effi cient and effective information technology transfer from developed countries to Malaysia is an important issue as a prerequisite to support the ICT needs of the country to become not only a ICT user but also a ICT producer. One of the factors that infl uences successful information technology transfer is managing the process of how technology transfer occurs in one environment. It involves managing interaction between all parties concerned which requires an organized strategy and action toward accomplishing technology transfer objective in an integrated and effective mode. Using a conceptual framework based on the Actor Network Theory (ANT), this paper will analyse a successful information technology transfer process at a private company which is also a supplier of information technology (IT) products to the local market. This framework will explain how the company has come up with a successful technology transfer in a local environment. Our study shows that the company had given interest to its relationships with all the parties involved in the transfer process. The technology transfer programme and the strategy formulated take into account the characteristics of technology and all those involved.  


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weam Alfayez ◽  
Arwa Alumran ◽  
Dr Saja A. Al-Rayes

BACKGROUND Many theories/ models adopted from behavioral sciences literature or developed within the field of information technologies could help in understanding the technology acceptance, usage, and effective adoption. OBJECTIVE The main aim of this paper is to review the different theories/ models that can help in understanding information technology/system acceptance and use, and to choose the most appropriate theoretical framework that could be applied to understand the factors influencing physicians’ use of the Electronic Health Record system (EHR) at King Fahd Military Medical Complex (KFMMC) in Dhahran city, Saudi Arabia. METHODS The theories/ models were reviewed using scientific databases. The inclusion criteria were if the theories/ models used to explain individual behaviors toward accepting and using of information technology including the once conducted within the healthcare. RESULTS The review showed that there were five theories/ models were used within information technology studies to understand the technology acceptance and used. There were Theory of Reasoned Action, Theory of Planned Behaviour, Innovation Diffusion Theory, Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, and Technology Acceptance Model. Each has different explanatory power of technology use. The most appropriate theoretical framework to understand the reason behind physician use of the EHR at KFMMC would be the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). TAM model could explain up to 75% of the variation in the behavioral intention (acceptance), and up to 62% of the variation in the actual use. It is the gold standard for assessing the usage of health technologies and systems. In fact, the TAM model is one of the core models used to explore the physician’s perceptions of the Electronic Health Record system adoption. CONCLUSIONS This review showed that there are different theories available in the literature can be used to justify the reason behind electronic health record acceptance. TAM is one of the effective, simplest models used to understand the factors influencing physicians to use the EHR-system. Further studies need to apply the TAM model to check its ability in explaining the reason behind EHR within different hospitals in Saudi Arabia


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Ahmad H. Abu Raddaha ◽  
Arwa Obeidat ◽  
Huda Al Awaisi ◽  
Jahara Hayudini

Background: Despite worldwide expanding implementation of electronic health record (EHR) systems, healthcare professionals conducted limited number of studies to explore factors that might facilitate or jeopardize using these systems. This study underscores the impact of nurses’ opinions, perceptions, and computer competencies on their attitudes toward using an EHR system.Methods: With randomized sampling, a cross-sectional exploratory design was used. The sample consisted of 169 nurses who worked at a public teaching hospital in Oman. They completed self-administered questionnaire. Several standardized valid and reliable instruments were utilized.Results: Seventy-four percent of our study nurses had high positive attitudes toward the EHR system. The least ranked perception scores (60.4%) were linked to perceiving that suggestions made by nurses about the system would be taken into account. Nurses who reported that the hospital sought for suggestions for customization of the system [OR: 2.54 (95% CI: 1.09, 5.88), p = .03], who found the system as an easy-to-use clinical information system [OR: 6.53 (95% CI: 1.72, 24.75), p = .01], who reported the presence of good relationship with the system’s managing personnel [OR: 3.59 (95% CI: 1.13, 11.36), p = .03] and who reported that the system provided all needed health information [OR: 2.97 (95% CI: 1.16, 7.62), p = .02] were more likely to develop high positive attitudes toward the system.Conclusions: To better develop plans to foster the EHR system’s use facilitators and overcome its usage barriers by nursing professionals, more involvement of nurses in system’s customization endeavors is highly suggested. When the system did not disrupt workflows, it would decrease clinical errors and expand nursing productivity. In order to maximize the utilization of the system in healthcare delivery, future research work to investigate the effect of the system on other healthcare providers and inter-professional communications is pressingly needed.


2016 ◽  
pp. 1001-1016
Author(s):  
Robert P Schumaker ◽  
Kavya P. Reganti

The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the efficiency of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) software that is adopted in the healthcare industry to provide better patient care. The authors examine the impact of EHRs on the efficient delivery of healthcare services. More specifically, they detail the origin of EHR, its significance in modern healthcare delivery along with the selection and implementation criteria for EHR software. They present a survey on the extent of adoption of EHR by clinicians. They also highlight the challenges and barriers faced by organizations in adopting EHR software such as cost, workflow impact and data security. Finally, the authors contemplate the future of EHR, its role in the implementation of health information exchange and its implementation in the cloud. They conclude that the implementation of EHR in the cloud is an important step towards better health management across the population with the end-goal of better health outcomes.


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