Premium
Health information technologies: From hazardous to the dark side
Author(s) -
Saunders Carol,
Rutkowski Anne F.,
Pluyter Jon,
Spanjers Ronald
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of the association for information science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.903
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 2330-1643
pISSN - 2330-1635
DOI - 10.1002/asi.23671
Subject(s) - great rift , hazard , work (physics) , health hazard , overconfidence effect , hazardous waste , occupational safety and health , health information technology , computer science , internet privacy , psychology , risk analysis (engineering) , business , medicine , health care , social psychology , engineering , environmental health , mechanical engineering , chemistry , physics , organic chemistry , pathology , astronomy , economics , waste management , economic growth
This article explores the effects of health information technologies (HIT) in operating rooms (ORs). When functioning well, HIT are a boon to mankind. However, HIT in the OR also create hazards for patients for a number of interrelated reasons. We introduce 5 interrelated components of hazard situations for medical teams operating in the OR: complexity, overload/underload, inadequate individual training, inadequate training of medical teams, and overconfidence of surgeons. These components of hazard situations in the OR may negatively impact patient safety. We discuss implications, especially in terms of individuals and medical teams in the OR, as well as work substitution as a broader aspect of the potential dark side of health IT.