Abstract
The world is slowly moving to an E-Health environment. Computers are becoming an essential part of how health is delivered, just as they are a part of all other aspects of life. Yet the adoption of computers is patchy. In some jurisdictions it is the hospital sector that is highly computerized, and in others it is primary care. This paper examines the adoption of computers in general practice in Australia, and provides a theoretical explanation for the reasons general practices adopted computers, while hospitals did not. The application of Complex Adaptive Systems not only explains the computerization, but provides lessons for others in promoting computers in the health sector.
Highlights
Understanding the why behind change allows us to better plan and implements change in the future
This paper’s aim is to take an established theory, Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) and applying to a hitherto untheorised area, the adoption of computers in primary care. It uses as a case study the uptake of desktop clinical information systems (CIS) in Australia in the period 1995-2005, a period in which general practitioner computerization went from effectively nil to 100%
What made many thousands of individual, unconnected practices adopt computers, and what might others learn from this? This paper will describe the principles of CAS, and the adoption of computer systems within Australia, and explore the linkages
Summary
Understanding the why behind change allows us to better plan and implements change in the future. For this reason the literature on change, and change management, is vast and never ending. This paper’s aim is to take an established theory, Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) and applying to a hitherto untheorised (but not unresearched) area, the adoption of computers in primary care. It uses as a case study the uptake of desktop clinical information systems (CIS) in Australia in the period 1995-2005, a period in which general practitioner computerization went from effectively nil to 100%. What made many thousands of individual, unconnected practices adopt computers, and what might others learn from this? This paper will describe the principles of CAS, and the adoption of computer systems within Australia, and explore the linkages
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