Reengineering: The Work Redesign-Technology Link

Computerization in healthcare is a vital component of operational restructuring, but simply automating existing systems will not achieve the maximum benefit information technology has to offer. The authors present a discussion of information technology and healthcare, addressing a forecast of the predominant technologies in this decade, the impact of information technology in healthcare, and the use of reengineering to explore potential changes in the design of work made possible by information technology. The implications of reengineering in hospitals for nursing and nurse executives are explored.