Digital health and patient safety: Technology is not a magic wand. (December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sujan, Mark; Scott, Philip; Cresswell, Kathrin
• Is Part Of: Health informatics journal. Volume 26:Number 4(2020)
• Page Start: 2295
• Page End: 2299
• Publication Date: 2020-12
• Subjects: artificial intelligence -- human factors -- IT healthcare evaluation -- machine learning -- patient safety; Medical informatics -- Periodicals; 610.285
• DOI: 10.1177/1460458219876183
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1460-4582

Abstract

The use of novel health information technology provides avenues for potentially significant patient benefit. However, it is also timely to take a step back and to consider whether the use of these technologies is safe – or more precisely what the current evidence for their safety is, and what kinds of evidence we should be looking for in order to create a convincing argument for patient safety. This special issue on patient safety includes eight papers that demonstrate an increasing focus on qualitative approaches and a growing recognition that the sociotechnical lens of examining health information technology–associated change is important. We encourage a balanced approach to technology adoption that embraces innovation, but nonetheless insists upon suitable concerns for safety and evaluation of outcomes.