Of Forms, Containers, and the Electronic Medical Record: Some Tools for a Sociology of the Formal

Abstract

Formal tools (i.e., those tools that operate on circumscribed input using rules and that contain a model of the workplace in which they are supposed to function) are attributed central roles in organizing work within many modern workplaces. How should one comprehend the power of these tools? Taking the (electronic) medical record as an example, this article builds on recent calls to overcome the dichotomy between the formal and the informal and proposes an understanding of the generative power of such tools that does not attribute mythical capacities to either tool or human work. To do so, it is important to look both at the history offormal tools and to their real-time use in concrete work practices. These steps toward a sociology of the formal are crucial for a more comprehensive understanding and evaluation offormal systems in practice.