Interactive Sociotechnical Analysis - Essay Example

'Interactive Sociotechnical Analysis' is a great example of a paper on the health system. 
The human approach tries to put into perspective interactions that take place between humans and the other elements in the health care system. The approach takes into account the knowledge, skills, perspective, and preferences of humans to design and drive performance. The sociotechnical perspective, on the other hand, integrates the technical dimensions of a health information system together with that of human, organizational as well as social dimensions.

An overview of the ISTA model

This is a framework that aids in the understanding of the interactions in the health informatics and the unintended consequences that can come about as a result of the interactions. It emphasizes on the type of interaction and the feedback loops. It takes into account previous studies of unintended consequences and integrates them such as studies on human factors, social-technical systems as well as the social construction of technologies.

Key features of the ISTA model

The model has four key features the first being the EHR as has been designed to be how or envisioned to be used. The other is the work environment which includes issues in the workplace such as policies, hierarchies, and priorities among others. The third feature is the physical and technical infrastructure such as the IT, layout and even the design of the building. Lastly are the EHR as it is used and its interaction with the work environment as well as the technical infrastructure.

Descriptions of the five types of socio-technical interactions

The sociotechnical system is the new health information technology changes taking place or existing in the social system. The second is the technical and physical infrastructure which is used to mediate HIT use. The third is the social system mediates where there is mediation between the new system and the one being used. There is also the HIT in use which changes the social system. Lastly is the HIT social interaction with the HIT redesign.

Unintended consequences for each type of sociotechnical interaction

In the first one, the HIT implementation can change or disrupt oral communication among the clinicians using it. The consequence of the second one is that there is a likelihood of inappropriate physical layouts that can disrupt the data entry. Thirdly is that the workarounds used to preserve the collaborations can also make them less efficient and hence leading to compromise on security and quality. The fourth unintended consequence is that the continuation of the workarounds can also negatively affect the relations of authorities. Lastly is that the HIT is likely to trigger warnings that are ignored by managers and technology designers.