Support for Informal Information Use and its Formalization in Medical Work

This paper reports the findings from two field studies that reveal paper-based artifacts being heavily relied upon in medical shift work despite the deployment of a mobile technology in a local hospital ward. We present the information flow in terms of common and personal information spaces and identify three important functions of these personal artifacts in the actual work practices. Artifacts serve as a bedside information source for patient care delivery, an opportune notepad and an information basis for reporting and handover. We thus recommend a system employing digital pens and paper so that nurses can retain the manual practice of constructing their personal artifacts, flexibly use them in the actual work and easily formalize the informal information recorded therein. We also discuss the benefits and challenges of our proposed technology.