An activity theory analysis of RFID in Hospitals
O'Leary, Dan
O'Leary, Dan
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Publication Type
Journal article
Editor
Supervisor
Publication Year
2010
Journal
International Journal of Applied Logistics
Book
Publication Volume
1
Publication Issue
2
Publication Begin page
64
Publication End page
80
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Abstract
Although there have been many proposed applications of RFID in hospitals, few of those applications have received sustained use in hospitals, to-date. As a result, this paper investigates the use of RFID in hospitals in an emerging application, that of using RFID as part of the prescription process, including pharmacists generation of the prescription and nurses’ administration of the medicine. Using activity theory, activity templates are generated for pharmacists, nurses and the hospital to investigate the introduction of RFID. This paper finds that the introduction of RFID involves changes in the activities, as measured by changes in context variables, not just changes in technology. Also, the RFID-based approach eliminates substantial “medicine” slack. Further, using activity theory, the activity design for using RFID facilitates “technologically insulation” of pharmacists and nurses, from each other and doctors. Finally, such “digital specification” of activities likely leads to fewer errors, and constrains action, limiting inappropriate use of prescription drugs.
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Keywords
Activity Theory, Activity Theory Organization Aggregation, Digital Specificity, Hospitals, RFID, Technology Eliminated Slack, Technology Insulation