Systems Thinking: Using the Tools of Ethnography and Technology to Transform Healthcare Delivery

All people inhabit complex socio-technical systems that emerge as a product of many individual contributions.  The goal of an ethnographer working for a large corporation such as Intel is to identify points in these socio-technical systems that are in need of change.  Enumerating all the costs and benefits in a particular system is challenging, but this information allows companies to develop new products specifically tailored to the needs of a subset of users. 

Many case studies can be used to illustrate the role that ethnography can play in the development of innovative medical technology.  Intel, for example, recently sought to gather information about how its products could improve communication in hospitals in the United States.  Observing nurses revealed that considerable knowledge is shared informally in hospital wards and is not digitized.  Sensing an opportunity, Intel developed a portable tablet computer designed specifically for nurses.  Another example of a program influenced by ethnographic data is an initiative developed by Intel to improve wireless connectivity in Uganda.  Providing a slightly better communication system to an area in which rural clinics are relatively isolated from larger hospitals caused noticeable improvements in healthcare. 

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