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The Socio-technical Foundations of Health Information Work

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The Health Information Workforce

Part of the book series: Health Informatics ((HI))

Abstract

Socio-technical values, principles, and theories are foundational knowledge for health information professionals. These emphasise that people who work with technology are augmented by it, not subordinate to it. Applying them can contribute to more effective design, development, implementation, management, and use of digital health and information systems. This chapter briefly describes the origins and underlying values of the socio-technical approach. It then discusses theories and key concepts. The second section demonstrates the relevance of socio-technical design to the health services in general and health information professionals, in particular. Examples from research and case studies are used to demonstrate how this workforce can apply socio-technical values and principles.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Launceston, TAS, Australia

    Carey A. Mather & Sue Whetton

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  1. Carey A. Mather
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  2. Sue Whetton
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Correspondence to Carey A. Mather .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Digital Health Hub, STEM College, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia

    Kerryn Butler-Henderson

  2. School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Karen Day

  3. Centre for Digital Transformation of Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Kathleen Gray

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Mather, C.A., Whetton, S. (2021). The Socio-technical Foundations of Health Information Work. In: Butler-Henderson, K., Day, K., Gray, K. (eds) The Health Information Workforce . Health Informatics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81850-0_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81850-0_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-81849-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-81850-0

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