Innovation in Brazilian and Spanish hospitals: the managers perception upon electronic patient record

This research describes the adoption of Electronic Patient Record in Brazilian and Spanish hospitals, focusing on the role of such technology upon hospital management and on controversies linked to the process of building and introducing this tool. The theoretical background discusses innovation from a Schumpeterian perspective; services on a socio-technical approach, and the notion of Techno-Economic Network. The research was undertaken in two hospitals in Brazil and one in Spain. Twenty managers, being 15 in Brazil and five in Spain were interviewed on the period from April 2009 to March 2010, based on a structured interview schedule. Content inductive analysis with categorization a posteriori was the main technique of data analysis. The main results show this kind of Record as a multifaceted innovation that appears both on the macro-, meso- and micro- levels. The Record is, also, an innovation in service and management that re-signifies the product of hospital service, behaving as an actor-network that mediates management, under control mechanisms.