Managing as Designing: Transforming Digital Healthcare Interoperability

Digital healthcare transformations promise improved overall quality healthcare and patient continued care among others. However, quality healthcare and continued patient care can be hampered by various challenges including insufficient collaboration among healthcare centers, and limited data exchanges between health information systems (HIS). Such challenges can be overcome through collaborative digital healthcare initiatives in which, HIS are designed with data exchange capabilities that enable healthcare centers to easily exchange patient information across boundaries. However, several existing initiatives are carried out in isolation, and there is limited practical knowledge on how to collaboratively manage and design HIS’ interoperability. Consequently, this study investigated a managing as designing (MaD) approach taken by a successful HIS interoperability initiative in Sweden. Data was collected mainly through interviews with key informants within the implementation team. Based on study findings, a MaD HIS-interoperability conceptual framework that can guide the management and design of future HIS’ interoperability was developed