Andy Kinnear, the head of the Avon IM&T Consortium, is reported to have told an audience at Smart Healthcare Live that one of the biggest problems standing in the way of mobile implementation is not the lack of technology, but… you guessed it… clinicians. Either his argument was very one-sided or the reporting of it was, but the item has provoked some interesting comments. Culture is barrier to mobile working. Heads-up thanks: Trevor Cradduck
3 thoughts on “Is culture the barrier to mobile working? (UK)”
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For all that is said about today’s social networking environment the comment in the article that indicates that workers still “return to base” in order to socialize in person strikes a chord. Tele-working can be very lonely so it is understandable that clinicians would prefer to confer with one another in person.
Agreed. I liked the comment to the effect that technology introduction strategies that did not take these sorts of factors into account are doomed to fail. Playing ‘blame the clinicians’ (aka ‘blame the users’) is not very helpful, is it?
The support and sharing of knowledge between clinicians happens at the office. It’s so important that this is not under-estimated. Mobile working is great and creates flexibility in the way we can work; but regular peer contact is needed too. Sometimes you need to de-brief after visiting particularly aggressive/difficult clients; sometimes you need to bounce ideas off of people; sometimes you need people in the office to respond to emergency calls. This is valuable; important time which shouldn’t be dismissed just as socialization time!
Could we work without this contact – Yes. Would we be as effective – unlikely.