The Interplay of Work, Digital Health Usage, and the Perceived Effects of Digitalization on Physicians' Work: Network...

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Medical Practice Management
• Digital Health

Background:

• The benefits of healthcare digitalization must outweigh risks, yet factors influencing this balance in physicians' work environments are poorly understood.
• A comprehensive understanding of digitalization's complex effects on physicians' work is needed to harness its advantages.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine physicians' perceptions of healthcare digitalization's impact on their work.
• To analyze how these perceptions correlate with work-related factors and digital health usage.

Main Methods:

• A network analysis using mixed graphical modeling was performed on data from 4630 Finnish physicians.
• Perceived effects of digitalization on patient roles, preventive work, interprofessional cooperation, decision support, information access, and consultation times were measured.
• Centrality statistics evaluated the relative influence of variables like health information system use, employment sector, and specialization.

Main Results:

• Nearly half of physicians felt digitalization enhanced patient roles and access to information, but only 10% saw benefits for consultation times.
• About half perceived no change in preventive work possibilities or clinical decision support system effectiveness.
• The primary electronic health record (EHR) system's quality strongly influenced faster consultations and patient information access; prolonged EHR use (≥6 months) also improved information access.

Conclusions:

• Physicians' perceptions of digitalization are complex and interdependent with work factors.
• High-quality electronic health record (EHR) systems are vital for efficient clinical practice.
• Successful digital health implementation requires considering work practices alongside technological aspects.