To lead and organise for standardisation in a Future Healthcare Information Environment

Purpose and goal:

The project aimed to develop research-based knowledge about challenges in leading and organizing for standardization in digital transformation and to contribute to the successful development, communication and implementation of uniform working methods .

Some important lessons are: (1) Staff can share examples among colleagues regarding when routines should be applied, and when deviations are justified. (2) When introducing new ways of working, it is important to be open about the disadvantages that come with the change work, and give clear advice on how they can be handled.

Expected results and effects: The identified challenges and strategies form a toolkit for healthcare professionals, managers and support staff.

When the management gives confidence to the healthcare staff to manage the complex balances between standardization and person-centered care, and when the staff becomes more confident in making such trade-offs, the healthcare becomes both uniform (i.e. patient-safe and knowledge-driven) and adapted to needs, in the change work, and gives clear advice how they can be handled.

Approach and implementation:

The project consisted of five case studies of projects where standardization of new working methods and associated IT tools was a challenge: Student-health, Mobile work, Care-need, Patient handover, and Speech recognition. 77 interviews were conducted with various professional roles in Lerum municipality and Sahlgrenska Academic Hospital (nurses, physiotherapists, dieticians, doctors, managers, business developers, etc.). All interviews have been transcribed, and the analysis has mapped which challenges reoccur, and which strategies can be applied to deal with them.