InfoFlow Framework for Evaluating Information Flow and New Health Care Technologies

Abstract

This article presents a framework of 6 distinct yet interrelated factors for describing information flow that arose from a combination of field studies in a hospital ward and a review of literature. These studies investigated the dynamics of nurses' information flow, focusing on shift change. The InfoFlow Framework's 6 interrelated factors that affect the information flow are information, personnel, artifacts, spatiality, temporality, and communication mode. The framework is presented as a tool for evaluating new health care technologies. The 6 factors and their interrelationships are described first. Next, this structure is applied as a tool to aid in the analysis of the data generated in a study that assesses technology in use. Then the use of the framework is illustrated by structuring it as a set of questions that can be used as a guide for other researchers to generate coherent descriptions of the information flow and to evaluate technology deployments. Finally, there is a discussion of areas where the InfoFlow framework may be applied to allow an evaluation of the extent to which the framework may be generalized to other settings.

Towards an understanding of the information dynamics of the handover process in aged care settings—A prerequisite for the safe and effective use of ICT

“…Australia is also participating in the High 5s initiative of the WHO Patient Safety Alliance [7]. Other initiatives include the development of guidelines for handover processes [8][9][10], descriptions of good practice in handovers [2,11] and the development and implementation of electronic solutions to assist in handovers [12][13][14][15].…”

Anticipating the consequences of technical change in healthcare: a conceptual modelling solution

“…The notation needs to express the different forms information exists in the domain and the ways information is exchanged. Information flow-the mechanism by which information travels and changes between people and systems-results from a combination of factors (Lee & Garvin, 2003;Tang, Carpendale, & Scott, 2010). The InfoFlow framework proposed by Tang et al (2010) suggests that information flow consists of six characteristics: information, personnel, artefacts, spatiality, temporality, and communication mode (see Figure 2).…”

“…Figure 2. The InfoFlow graphic, reproduced from (Tang et al, 2010). The line segments connecting points on the polygon represent how information flow consists of different parameters.…”

“…The line segments connecting points on the polygon represent how information flow consists of different parameters. Tang et al (2010) identified the parameters of information flow after observing nursing work during periods of shift change. Nurses combined information from physical and electronic sources and the ease with which nurses provided and received a handover was affected by environmental and temporal factors.…”

“…First, the studies influenced how multiple qualitative research methods were used in the domain study so that "nothing was missed" in terms of the tools and technologies used in practice (Grant et al, 2004). Second, frameworks derived from workplace studies guided the process of identifying properties within the healthcare domain (Bardram & Bossen, 2005;Tang et al, 2010;Unertl, Novak, Johnson, & Lorenzi, 2010). These properties were incorporated into the design requirements for the process modelling notation.…”