Information infrastructure for inter-organizational mental health services: An actor network theory analysis of psychiatric rehabilitation

  • Authors:

  • Toomas Timpka;Magnus Bång;Tom Delbanco;Janet Walker

  • Affiliations:

  • Department of Computer and Information Science, Department of Health and Society, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden;Department of Computer and Information Science, Department of Health and Society, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden;Department of General Medicine and Primary Care, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA;Department of General Medicine and Primary Care, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

  • Venue:
  • Journal of Biomedical Informatics
  • Year:
  • 2007

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Abstract

In the supply of mental health services to communities, data and information are managed not only by clinical organizations, but also by welfare state agencies and charities. The aim of this study is to use methods of analysis from actor network theory to identify organizational interventions necessary for the development of an information infrastructure for inter-organizational mental health services. Data was collected in a project aimed at developing an information system that supports inter-organizational psychiatric rehabilitation in a Swedish municipality. Three organizational interventions were identified: an integrated service policy defined by the national government, a common legal framework allowing sharing of high-level client data, and commissioned support for local inter-agency workspaces. It is concluded that organizational interventions must be regarded when configuring an information infrastructure for mental health services. Organizational interventions should also routinely be addressed in systems design methods to be used in inter-organizational settings.