Health it Information Technology and Cultural Transformation

Health IT

Information Technology and Cultural Transformation in Healthcare

Rapid advances in information technology have continued to drive change in many sectors, including healthcare. Ongoing research suggests that cultural transformation is necessary in order to properly adapt to the capabilities and constraints of the increasing complexity and pervasiveness of information technology in healthcare settings. Better utilizing the information technology available to healthcare organizations and more accurately understanding the social impacts of this technology can actually help to achieve the cultural changes that are needed, as is demonstrated in the following brief literature review.

At one level, there needs to be a certain degree of autonomy for individual healthcare organizations in their adoption and utilization of information technologies in certain operations, as this will enhance opportunities for cultural adaptability and a willingness to undergo such transformations (Abraham et al. 2011; Lopez et al. 2011). Different communities can experience significantly different effects from the wide-scale adoption of information technologies, in part due to significant differences in healthcare needs and resources (Lopez et al. 2011). While healthcare technology adoption has led to a great many positive outcomes through its integration and the creation of greater consistency, this has also been seen as a hindrance by some organizations that are struggling for greater control and attention to specific healthcare and practice issues (Abraham et al. 2011; Rivard et al. 2011). The cultural transformation necessary to achieve a more effective utilization of healthcare information technologies is not the same in every community or organization.

It is partially because of this reason that organizational planning is such an essential feature of an effective and proper adoption of healthcare information technologies; not only are the practicalities and the direct functions of an organization and its workers/patients affected by the adoption of such technologies, but the overall structure and culture of the organization is impacted, as well, and planning for this impact is key (Palmieri et al. 2011). A lack of such planning and the cognitive preparedness for healthcare technology adoption has been cited as a major source of the lack of consistent and efficient adoption of information technologies, and is likely a major reason behind the slow rate of cultural adaptation and change in response to these technologies (Karsh et al. 2010). Barriers to effective information technology adoption are seen as the result not only of alack of planning and cognitive preparedness, but in some settings due to the perceived cultural and social ills created by an over-reliance on technology (Box et al. 2010). In short, the cultural changes that must occur in order for widespread healthcare information technology to be adopted in light of its ongoing social and practical impacts are themselves quite widespread, ranging from perceptions of technology to the fundamental principles of healthcare provision and organizational practice (Palmieri et al. 2011; Karsh et al. 2010; Box et al. 2010).