Identifier
etd-07132015-112412
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Communication Studies
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
This ethnographic research study documented the use and effects of an electronic medical records system (EMR) by healthcare providers working in a community hospital-based emergency room. Using data collected from participant observation, in-depth interviews, questionnaires, and hospital documents, the research findings suggest EMRs impinge providers’ agency, alter emergency room systems, affect communication patterns among providers, and exacerbate structurational divergence (SD) conditions. Findings suggest that providers’ attempts to regain lost agency tips the SD-nexus into an SD-cycle, characterized by negative communication spirals between providers. The discussion chapter examines the impact of EMRs on emergency room structures, system reproduction, providers’ workflow and communication patterns, patients’ experiences, and unintended consequences, and it expounds implications of the study with regard to what lessons learned from this analysis suggests might be best practices for hospitals and emergency rooms adopting EMRs.
Date
2015
Document Availability at the Time of Submission
Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.
Recommended Citation
Overton, Barbara Cook, "Examining Electronic Medical Records System Adoption and Implications for Emergency Medicine Practice and Providers" (2015). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 2380.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/2380
Committee Chair
Pecchioni, Loretta
DOI
10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.2380