Knowledge sharing in medical team: Knowledge, knowledge management, and team knowledge

Abstract

Nowadays medical work is team work of several professionals (like for example in rehabilitation) so knowledge is a central issue in this field: the fast growing biomedical knowledge base is needed to be applied as fast and as effectively as possible to avoid medical errors. The suitable method for this purpose is a knowledge management system, which is based on the specialties of medical knowledge, and the expert teams of physicians and related professionals. The aim of this article is to review the literature on three levels: (1) personal level (medical knowledge and knowledge encapsulation theory by Boshuizen and Schmidt (1992) (2) team level (medical teamwork, e.g. in rehabilitation); (3) and organizational level (knowledge management systems). The medical work has some specialties that constraint the possibilities of knowledge management. On one hand, medical knowledge in a high level of expertise is activated faster, but in a less detailed manner compared to other domains of knowledge; it is stored in an encapsulated form. On the other hand, as a consequence of medical work, any effective knowledge management system must be "baked in" the daily routine (Devenport, Glaser 2002). The user interface must be on the spot, avoiding additional efforts, and time needs. As a conclusion, this review is the integration of experiences and results from group interaction researches in high risk environment, and the practices from the knowledge management applications in several domains of work and to find the theoretical possibilities of a successful knowledge management system in the medical field. © Periodica Polytechnica 2010.