Title: Using actor network theory to understand network centric healthcare operations

Authors: Nilmini Wickramasinghe, Rajeev K. Bali, Arthur Tatnall

Addresses: Center for the Management of Medical Technology, Stuart Graduate School of Business, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL 60661, USA. ' Knowledge Management for Healthcare (KMH) Research Subgroup, Biomedical Computing and Engineering Technologies Applied Research Group (BIOCORE), Coventry University, Coventry, UK. ' Centre for International Corporate Governance Research, Graduate School of Business, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia

Abstract: The adoption and diffusion of e-health and the application of ICT in healthcare is being heralded as the panacea with both European and US governments making e-health a priority on their agendas. In this context, a model of networkcentric healthcare operations has been proffered as the best way to maximise the benefits of ICT use in healthcare. We suggest that, before we can move forward and realise such a state, it is vital to examine the critical issues, likely barriers and facilitators and, most importantly, the critical success factors. To do this however, we need an appropriate cognitive lens through which we can capture all the complexities of healthcare dynamics. In this paper we suggest why Actor Network Theory (ANT) should be this lens.

Keywords: electronic healthcare; healthcare management; healthcare operations; global healthcare; e-health; network-centric healthcare; healthcare technology; ICT; actor network theory; ANT; critical success factors; barriers; facilitators; healthcare dynamics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEH.2007.014551

International Journal of Electronic Healthcare, 2007 Vol.3 No.3, pp.317 - 328

Published online: 16 Jul 2007 *

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