Affiliation:
1. Jönköping International Business School, Sweden
Abstract
Information technology has been suggested to improve patient health outcomes and reduce the burden of care. In this study, we explored the effects of collaborative innovation between caregivers and patients on healthcare delivery as a consequence of the use of an IT-based device by patients with atrial fibrillation. Two cardiologists and two nurses were interviewed while questionnaires were mailed to 75 patients querying them about the use of a home-based ECG for remote monitoring. Findings indicated that the caregivers considered the device to enhance the quality of clinical decision-making. Patients found the device to be useful and felt more involved in their own care. However, the introduction of the device presented work overload for the caregivers. Thus, the facilitation of timely diagnostics and decision-making were not realized. IT is an enabler through which innovation in healthcare delivery can be realized, but it must be integrated into work practices to realize potential benefits.