Introducing new technologies while maintaining high reliability: Comparison of two hospitals

Abstract

Introducing new technologies is a challenge to organizations that strive for reliability. With the help of practice theory and a special focus on resourcing practices, we conducted a qualitative case study on the introduction of two technologies in two German hospitals: one introducing a digital anesthesia documentation software, the other one a robot-assisted knee arthroplasty. Our findings illustrate that, to introduce such technologies, the organizations involved enacted specific practices, among them resourcing practices, in order to increase reliability during all steps of the introduction process. Our study also reveals that, throughout all phases, it is important to collaborate with the technology provider in order to acquire knowledge not only about the new technology, but also about the introduction process and to maintain reliability.