Framing The Implementation Process Of Video Conferencing In Discharge Planning - According To Staff Experience

Challenges of improving discharge planning have been an area of concern for many years, including problems related to the lack of time for professionals to participate. In a county in South East Sweden, video conferencing was implemented in discharge planning sessions to enable distance participation of the professionals. To examine the implementation process, interviews were conducted with the implementers, who were project leaders, discharge planning coordinators in the hospital, and in home-care. The interviews were analyzed qualitatively, using directed content analysis with a deductive approach to a theoretical framework that was composed from theories about implementation processes to be suitable for the healthcare sector, consisting of the factors: implementation objects; implementation actions; actors; users; inner context and outer context. The results of this study are consistent with the framework but with the addition of a new dimension-time, i.e. time to prepare; time to understand; time to run through and time to reflect. It is suggested that implementation frameworks are useful when IT is introduced in healthcare. Framing the implementation process supports the exposure of factors and highlights relationships and states of dependence between those factors which may affect implementation.