Reshaped communication, transformed interaction: How health information technology affects employee conflict and collaboration

Abstract

This study explores how information and communication technology (ICT)—in this case health information technology (HIT)—influences employee conflict and collaboration. Although HIT has been suggested as a key way to improve patient care, results thus far have been mixed at best. Drawing on a sociotechnical approach, I suggest that one reason for this ambiguity is the way HIT shapes social relations between employees. Using survey data from a district implementing HIT as part of a broader shift towards integrated care, I link degree of HIT use to 1) improved between unit collaboration; 2) greater intra-unit task conflict, contribution conflict, relationship conflict, and status conflict; 3) higher levels of conflict stress; and 4) increased levels of conflict between units, between employees and supervisors, and between employees and patients. The results highlight the importance of considering employee interactions when designing and evaluating ICTs more broadly and HIT in particular.