Visualizing Purpose and Functionality Overlaps of Health IT Systems using an Abstraction Hierarchy

Abstract

The development of health IT fuels a digitalization process that affects the work of hospital staff negatively in the case of poor integration of IT systems. A challenge lies in keeping track of the existing IT systems and possible overlapping functions. The Abstraction Hierarchy model from the Cognitive Work Analysis framework describes how parts of a complex system relate to the over-arching goals of the system, which could work as an overview of the IT systems. In this study, we explore how an Abstraction Hierarchy can be used to visualize how IT systems’ functions overlap, interfere with, or depend on each other. The Abstraction Hierarchy was developed based on documentation, interviews, and a study visit at a hospital ward. The overlaps in functionality visualized in the Abstraction Hierarchy could serve as indicators for the need for further investigation of effects on the hospital staff’s work.