Digital when possible, physical when necessary: An exploration of the digiphysical world of Ängelholm hospital
The Ängelholm Hospital is experiencing significant challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic, an ageing population, and the struggle to retain and recruit staff. To combat these challenges, the hospital aims to become an innovation hospital that will promote the development of new technologies, methods, and work processes to support the future healthcare system. They plan to collaborate closely with universities and industry experts to achieve this goal. The hospital is working towards establishing an innovation department to support the development of person-centred care and to facilitate innovation and development activities within the organisation. The hospital also aims to use digital resources and services effectively to make information-driven decisions at all levels and implement a new digital health information system by 2026. This project aims to understand how existing and emerging digital practices influence the hospital's digital and physical environments. The project will investigate the hospital's existing and emerging digital practices from patients' and care professionals' perspectives. The project will employ a tailored ethnographic method to explore digital practices in the hospital organisation, theoretical frameworks will inform the analysis of the digital interactive landscapes patients and care professionals navigate. The results of the project will contribute to identifying competence needs and conditions for development and innovation in the hospital.