Activities to Promote Resilience During Health Information System Transitions

Abstract

Health information systems are ubiquitous in modern medicine. They are sometimes involved in problems with the delivery of care, and this seems to be especially prevalent when transitioning to a new system. Resilience is the ability of systems to respond to unexpected demands or circumstances to allow resumption or continuation of normal operations. We propose that some methods and techniques commonly used in human factors and usability work may promote system resilience, which may be especially important during times of transition. Examples include contextual inquiry, task analysis, risk assessment, and trade-off studies. These activities help people understand and communicate context of use and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the difference between work-as-done (WAD) and work-as-imagined (WAI), as well as navigate risks and benefits when making decisions regarding system changes.