 Success in health information exchange projects: Solving the implementation puzzleClaude Sicotte and Guy Paré Social Science & Medicine, 2010, vol. 70, issue 8, 1159-1165 Abstract: Interest in health information exchange (HIE), defined as the use of information technology to support the electronic transfer of clinical information across health care organizations, continues to grow among those pursuing greater patient safety and health care accessibility and efficiency. In this paper, we present the results of a longitudinal multiple-case study of two large-scale HIE implementation projects carried out in real time over 3-year and 2-year periods in Québec, Canada. Data were primarily collected through semi-structured interviews (n = 52) with key informants, namely implementation team members and targeted users. These were supplemented with non-participants observation of team meetings and by the analysis of organizational documents. The cross-case comparison was particularly relevant given that project circumstances led to contrasting outcomes: while one project failed, the other was a success. A risk management analysis was performed taking a process view in order to capture the complexity of project implementations as evolving phenomena that are affected by interdependent pre-existing and emergent risks that tend to change over time. The longitudinal case analysis clearly demonstrates that the risk factors were closely intertwined. Systematic ripple effects from one risk factor to another were observed. This risk interdependence evolved dynamically over time, with a snowball effect that rendered a change of path progressively more difficult as time passed. The results of the cross-case analysis demonstrate a direct relationship between the quality of an implementation strategy and project outcomes. Keywords: Canada; Health; information; exchange; Clinical; information; system; Project; risk; management; Process; analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:70:y:2010:i:8:p:1159-1165 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article Social Science & Medicine is currently edited by Ichiro (I.) Kawachi and S.V. (S.V.) Subramanian More articles in Social Science & Medicine from Elsevier |
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