Transforming technology-mediated health-care services through strategic sense-giving

Abstract

Purpose Service research has previously documented service providers’ role in addressing the barriers of technology mediation, mostly at the service delivery level. The purpose of this study is to enhance our understanding about the role of service providers who hold strategic and operational roles, as well as investigate the impact of coordinated, organization-wide initiatives in dealing with the demands and associated emotional ambivalence of technology-mediated services. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study draws from a series of in-depth interviews with health-care service providers who hold strategic and operational roles in health-care organizations along with participant observation to develop an understanding of the broader organizational context of telehealth services. Findings This paper outlines the strategic sense-giving process and highlights how health-care service providers who hold strategic and operational roles enact the sense-giver role. This study illustrates that strategic sense-giving involves the recognition of sense-making gaps; identification of sense-giving opportunities; and provision of templates of action. Originality/value This study illustrates that sense-giving can be performed by a number of organizational members in a more formalized way which extends informal sense-giving efforts at the peer-to-peer level. The importance of strategic sense-giving in providing templates of action for service providers and consumers is highlighted. This study also shows how strategic sense-giving safeguards against confusion and errors by communicating appropriate ways of using technology. Finally, the role of strategic sense-giving in helping service providers and consumers cope with the emotional ambivalence of technology-mediated service interactions are demonstarted.

A smart tech lever to augment caregivers' touch and foster vulnerable patient engagement and well-being

“…Here, actor engagement refers to "both the disposition of actors to engage, and the activity of engaging in an interactive process of resource integration within the institutional context provided by a service ecosystem" (Storbacka et al, 2016, p. 3009). In the healthcare domain, patient engagement includes psychosocial, relational and organizational aspects, all of which favor the assisted person's capacity to become more active, aware and participatory in the caregiving process (Daskalopoulou et al, 2020). It also determines the type of relationship that the patient can establish with other members of the health system, across different phases of the healthcare journey.…”

“…Rather than understanding situations that lead to vulnerability (Pavia and Mason, 2014), this study offers insights into how to mitigate vulnerability among patients who lack control but also experience an imbalance in interactions. Reducing vulnerability requires engaging patients, enabling them to become more active and aware of their conditions and opportunities (Daskalopoulou et al, 2020). Engaging patients with vulnerability in healthcare means promoting their autonomy in the conscious management of their disease, in a relationship context marked by trust with caregivers (Virle e et al, 2020).…”

Distance is no longer a barrier to healthcare services: current state and future trends of telehealth research

“…Various scholars around the world describe telehealth as mobile health applications (m-health) that employ ICT to support public health such as remote healthcare, wellness education and community health management (Duarte and Pinho, 2019;Lee et al, 2018;Yanicelli et al, 2020). Telehealth provides patient-centered solutions, such as improved healthcare responsiveness, which is critical to the delivery of high-quality healthcare services (Daskalopoulou et al, 2020;Liu and Varshney, 2020;Sims, 2018). With real-time medical…”

“…, 2020). Telehealth provides patient-centered solutions, such as improved healthcare responsiveness, which is critical to the delivery of high-quality healthcare services (Daskalopoulou et al. , 2020; Liu and Varshney, 2020; Sims, 2018).…”

Persistent institutional breaches: Technology use in healthcare work

“…While there exist studies demonstrating that technology, particularly organizationwide IT systems, improve healthcare work practices (McGivern and Fischer, 2012), not all technology use follows this organization-wide pattern (Daskalopoulou et al 2019b;Daskalopoulou et al, 2020). In this study, we aim to bring analytical attention to what Star (2002) refers to as the 'institutional fringes' in healthcare work, where relatively minor new technology use can become a lively talking point, where judgements and values are questioned and scrutinized in the day-to-day practice of healthcare professionals.…”