Are we putting the cart before the horse? A microcosm of intended and unintended outcomes of electronic medical record implementation

Holly Jordan Lanham, Reuben R. McDaniel

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Leaders in health care are calling for the implementation of electronic medical records (EMR) systems to help alleviate high costs of care delivery, high error rates, and uneven access to care. However, many of these leaders seem to be overlooking unintended outcomes of EMR implementation. Specifically, they may be overlooking the critical role physician beliefs and relationships play in the use of EMRs and in generating both intended and unintended outcomes. We studied a microcosm of the health care system through a qualitative field study examining EMR use in four clinics operating within a multi-specialty medical organization. We found that beliefs held by physicians about medical practice and the patterns of relationships in clinics influence EMR use behaviors in both expected and unexpected ways. Our contribution is to call attention to unintended outcomes of EMR implementation and to suggest that EMRs can be used as artifacts for learning.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication15th Americas Conference on Information Systems 2009, AMCIS 2009
Pages3397-3403
Number of pages7
StatePublished - 2009
Externally publishedYes
Event15th Americas Conference on Information Systems 2009, AMCIS 2009 - San Francisco, CA, United States
Duration: Aug 6 2009Aug 9 2009

Publication series

Name15th Americas Conference on Information Systems 2009, AMCIS 2009
Volume5

Other

Other15th Americas Conference on Information Systems 2009, AMCIS 2009
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySan Francisco, CA
Period8/6/098/9/09

Keywords

  • Beliefs
  • Electronic medical records
  • Health IT
  • Learning
  • Relationships
  • Unintended outcomes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Science Applications
  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Information Systems
  • Library and Information Sciences

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