EHR Implementation and Task Allocation Within Hospital Care Units: A Natural Experiment

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between information processing and organization design. In particular, we examine the causal effects of the implementation of a healthcare information technology (HIT) system on the delegation and dispersion of tasks among care units within hospitals. While this relationship has been examined previously, a definitive answer has not been forthcoming largely because of the difficulty in identifying the causal effects of greater information access. We also consider that information processing and hence organization design choices will be sensitive to the ability to establish mutual understanding among interacting care unit members. We focus on the mutual understanding developed through experience working together. We also find that rather than general experience, it is prior dyadic experience between particular doctors and nurses which amplifies this effect. We find that this is especially true for doctors trained at high status institutions. Our study contributes to theories of information processing, organizational learning, and organization design.