Abstract
With the emergence of the Internet, new health information systems are being designed and implemented that focus on coordination between providers, patients, payors and other constituents. While the importance of end user input in identifying the desired functionality of systems has long been recognized, very little work focuses on how users perceive the desired functionalities of these new systems to group together, and the implications of these groupings for the organization of functionalities into program modules and associated user interfaces. In this paper, we advance the construct, user based perceptual structure of desired functionality, in the context of these new coordination-intensive health information systems. Perceptual structure depicts how users perceive different desired system functions to group together. A conceptual framework is advanced which links perceptual structure to two broad categories of components, external coordination and internal coordination, which are related to prospective beliefs about system value. The framework is tested empirically via two field studies conducted by a hospital chain focusing on two major user groups, physicians and office administrators. The setting involves a proposed Internet-based health information system that links various constituencies in the service delivery chain. The empirically generated perceptual structure is found to be largely supportive of its conceptual counterpart. Implications for the design and development of this new class of systems, and public policy implications of such new systems are presented.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Gingrich N, Pavey D, Woodbury A (2003) Saving lives and saving money: transforming health and healthcare. Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, Washington District of Columbia
Power to the patient, Business Week Online October 31 (2005) http://www.businessweek.com/
Kolata G (2005) In unexpected medicare benefit, U.S. will offer doctors free electronic records system, New York Times A14 July 21
Walker J, Pan E, Johnston D, Adler-Milstein J, Bates D, Middleton B (2005) The value of health care information exchange and interoperability. Health Aff 24:5–10
Shiffman RN, Liaw Y, Brandt CA, Corb G (1999) Computer-based guideline implementation systems: a systematic review of functionality and effectiveness. J Am Med Inform Assoc 6:104–114
Mark G, Gonzalez V (2004) Constant, constant multi-tasking craziness: managing multiple working spheres, Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing 113–120
Ozcan YA, Smith P (1998) Towards a science of the management of health care. Health Care Manage Sci 1:1–4
Churchman CW, Schainblatt AH (1965) The researcher and the manager: a dialectic of implementation. Manage Sci 11:B69–B87
Boland RJ Jr (1978) The process and product of system design. Manage Sci 24:887–898
Ginzberg MJ (1981) Early diagnosis of MIS implementation failure: promising results and unanswered questions. Manage Sci 27:447–459
King WR, Rodriguez JI (1981) Participative design of strategic decision support systems: an empirical assessment. Manage Sci 27:717–726
Robey D, Farrow DL (1982) User involvement in information system development: a conflict model and empirical test. Manage Sci 28:73–85
Ives B, Olson MH (1984) User involvement and MIS success: a review of research. Manage Sci 30:586–603
Melone NP (1990) A theoretical assessment of the user-satisfaction construct in information systems research. Manage Sci 36:76–91
Bapna R, Goes P, Gupta A, Jin Y (2004) User heterogeneity and its impact on electronic auction market design. MIS Quarterly 28:21–43
Albert TC, Goes PB, Gupta A (2004) GIST: a model for design and management of content and interactivity of customer centric web sites. MIS Quarterly 28:161–182
Lamb R, Kling R (2003) Re-conceptualizing users as social actors in information systems research. MIS Quarterly 27:197–235
Keil M, Carmel E (1995) Customer–developer links in software development. Commun ACM 38
Leonard KL (2004) The role of patients in designing health information systems: the case of applying simulation techniques to design an electronic patient record (EPR) interface. Health Care Manage Sci 7:275–284
Kinzie MB, Cohn WF, Julian MF, Knaus WA (2002) A user-centered model for web site design: needs assessment, user interface design and rapid prototyping. J Med Inform Assoc 9:320–330
Triester NW (1998) Physician acceptance of new medical information systems: the field of dreams. Physician Exec 24:20–24
Urban GL, Hauser JR (1993) Design and marketing of new products. Prentice Hall, New Jersey
Mumford E (1979) Consensus systems design: an evaluation of this approach. In: Szyperski N, Grochla E (eds.) Design and implementation of computer based information systems. Sijthoff and Noordhoff, Groningen
Davenport TH (1993) Process innovation: reengineering work through information technology. Harvard Business School, Boston
Porter M (1985) Competitive advantage. Free Press, New York
Mooney J, Gurbaxani V, Kraemer KL (1996) A process oriented perspective of the business value of information technology. Database 27:68–81
Malone T, Yates J, Benjamin R (1987) Electronic markets and electronic hierarchies: effect of information technology on market structure and corporate strategy. Commun ACM 30:484–497
Gurbaxani V, Whang S (1991) The impact of information systems on organizations and markets. Commun ACM 34:59–71
Gurbaxani V, Shi E (1992) Computers and coordination in manufacturing. J Organ Comput 2:27–46
Cook T, Campbell D (1979) Quasi-experimentation. Houghton Mifflin, Boston
Kaiser HF (1974) An index of factorial simplicity. Psychometrika 39:31–36
Nielsen J (1996) Usability heuristics. Health Manag Technol 17:34
Benbasat I, Zmud R (1999) Empirical research in information systems: the practice of relevance. MIS Quarterly 23:3–16
Gallager CA (1974) Perceptions of the value of a management information system. Acad Manage J 17:46–55
Lucas HC Jr (1975) Why information systems fail. Columbia University Press, New York
Sartore A (1976) Implementing a management information system: the relationship of participation, knowledge, performance, and satisfaction in an academic environment, Ph.D. dissertation, University of California at Irvine
Spense J (1978) A case study analysis of organizational effectiveness between user-managers and information service department personnel, Ph.D. dissertation, Texas Tech University
Swanson EB (1974) Management information systems: appreciation and involvement. Manage Sci 21:178–188
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Currim, I.S., Gurbaxani, V., LaBelle, J. et al. Perceptual structure of the desired functionality of internet-based health information systems. Health Care Manage Sci 9, 151–170 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10729-006-7663-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10729-006-7663-x