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Tony Huzzard. Photo.

Tony Huzzard

Professor emeritus

Tony Huzzard. Photo.

Whole System in the Room : Toward Systems Integration in Healthcare

Author

  • Tony Huzzard
  • Andreas Hellström
  • Svante Lifvergren

Summary, in English

How might systems integration be furthered in healthcare? The paper addresses this by exploring critically the potentials of appreciative inquiry for accelerating systems integration through a large group intervention. We analyze a one-day dialog workshop to get “the whole system in the room” to improve cancer care in a regional health authority in south west Sweden. Seeing systems integration as socialization and enhanced common understandings, we suggest that discourse may play a crucial role in bringing together the various stakeholders in the system. Our analysis of the group discussions of the event demonstrates however that the degree of shared understanding can vary considerably across the discussion themes of appreciative inquiry. We argue that the “patient,” as a linguistic artifact, can act as a boundary signifier that enables those present to interact in a meaningful and coherent way but that this stops short of systems integration.

Department/s

  • Department of Business Administration

Publishing year

2018

Language

English

Pages

800-808

Publication/Series

Health Communication

Volume

33

Issue

7

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Routledge

Topic

  • Health Care Service and Management, Health Policy and Services and Health Economy

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1041-0236