Sociotechnical dimensions19
| Dimension | Description |
|---|---|
| Hardware and software | Computing infrastructure used to support and operate clinical applications and devices |
| Clinical content | The text, numeric data and images that constitute the ‘language’ of clinical applications, including clinical decision support |
| Human–computer interface | All aspects of technology that users can see, touch or hear as they interact with it |
| People | Everyone who is involved with patient care and/or interacts in some way with healthcare delivery (including technology). This would include patients, clinicians and other healthcare personnel, IT developers and other IT personnel, informaticians |
| Workflow and communication | Processes to ensure that patient care is carried out effectively, efficiently and safely |
| Internal organisational features | Policies, procedures, the physical work environment and the organisational culture that govern how the system is configured, who uses it and where and how it is used |
| External rules and regulations | Federal or state rules (eg, CMS's Physician Quality Reporting Initiative,20 HIPAA and Meaningful Use programme) and billing requirements that facilitate or constrain the other dimensions |
| Measurement and monitoring | Evaluating both intended and unintended consequences through a variety of prospective and retrospective, quantitative and qualitative methods |
HIPAA, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996; IT, information technology.