Institutional Logics Shaping E-health Projects: A Case Study of the EMR System in Dubai

This is a research-in-progress article that aims to explore the extent emergent formats for public health sector as new projects for EMR systems are launched and negotiated locally. The article adopts institutional theory and the concept of institutional logics to explore ICTs projects in Dubai’s public health organizations. To set the scene for this study, the article traces temporal developments and trends of health ICT projects, through an institutional analysis of associated discourses, over the course of almost a decade. The article identifies three institutional influences during consecutive periods of time that shaped how ICT projects are depicted and approached. The aim is to explore how these new formats for health projects are enacted by healthcare workers and their implications for public health organizations