Collaborative Technologies in Healthcare

Subject: Health

4313 words

21 pages

February 19th, 2022

Introduction

Information technologies such as electronic health records are increasingly being adopted in healthcare. They offer a variety of well-documented advantages that increase the quality and efficiency of the treatments that are provided by various medical facilities. One particular benefit is the improved cooperation and collaboration, both between different professionals at a single facility and between different organizations. Advances in storage and communication technology enable workers to discuss matters more effectively and share pertinent information to prevent the administration of inappropriate treatments. As a result, cooperation between medical professionals is both enabled and promoted without the need for specific encouragement efforts. With that said, electronic systems have not been implemented nationwide in the United States yet, both due to the recent emergence of the technology and a variety of additional concerns.

A variety of electronic healthcare solutions with a diverse range of purposes and capabilities has been developed and used at different medical facilities. As such, research regarding their effectiveness has to consider the differences in these aspects, which makes the development of a unified research framework complicated. A study that confirms one system’s effectiveness does not necessarily justify the adoption of another at a different organization. As a result, many healthcare facilities have struggled with deciding to adopt an IT-enabled collaboration system or implementing it effectively. There are concerns regarding the usage of electronic technologies on both the organizational and the staff level. The employees and their concerns, in particular, are of particular interest, as the success of the technology’s adoption depends on them. To that end, this paper will explore the advantages and disadvantages of electronic systems in the practitioner environment.

Body

Background

The application of information technologies of healthcare exists in many forms, electronic health records and various communication tools being among the most prominent. They have multiple impacts on the effectiveness of the teamwork in health care institutions, though most focus on improving their efficiency. One application is project management, as the usage of electronic tools can make the adoption of new practices and initiatives easier. Initiatives can come from various professionals, who need to gather support from other team members and leadership. As such, improved communication capabilities can help them spread awareness of the project and collect feedback to improve it. Additionally, electronic tools can help leaders manage conflicts without the need to be physically present. With that said, despite all of these advantages, the adoption of new technologies has been happening slowly and has not brought large-scale changes to the field.

One possible set of reasons is adoption-related issues, which are compounded by the early state of the technology. Medical workers often lack the training necessary for them to operate the tools with which they are provided at optimal efficiency. Compounded with the resistance to change that often serves as a barrier to new initiatives, the lack of awareness leads them to keep using their old methods. Another issue is the potential bugs and design flaws in programs, which many medical professionals lack the proficiency to address. As was mentioned above, much of healthcare-specific software is relatively young, which increases the likelihood of formerly unknown issues emerging. Lastly, the usage of electronic tools for healthcare has substantial legal ramifications due to the strict privacy requirements in the profession. All of these factors can lead medical workers to refuse to adopt software in their work or fail to utilize it fully.

Problem Statement and Research Questions

The information about the adoption of information technologies in healthcare is disorganized and often lacking. In particular, data about the organizational benefits of EHR, as well as adoption concerns in working environments, are inadequate. As a result, while the adoption of new technologies is beneficial in theory, the body of evidence that supports the initiative in practice is inconclusive. As a result, many organizations are waiting to invest in these approaches once they are well-established rather than take risks. Moreover, the facilities that choose to adopt electronic tools often fail to secure the cooperation of the staff, leading to failures in issue detection. Without a frame of reference, the discovery and resolution of problems are left to the management and their competencies, which are not necessarily adequate to the task. As a result, the adoption of various electronic tools often does not justify the investment because it does not measurably improve the staff’s performance.

To address these issues, this study will aim to provide a general overview of the topic and its practical implications. It will discuss the problems that are listed above and give an overview of the current state of information technologies in practice and offer specific solutions for the company under consideration. To that end, the study will discuss the following questions:

What IT-based collaboration and communication methods and tools are used in healthcare facilities?
What tools and methods are used in healthcare contribute to project management, and how do they contribute to the success of initiatives?
Is communication software used for long-distance conflict management in healthcare facilities? If so, how does it contribute to the resolution of conflict situations, and how effective is it?
Do healthcare professionals receive adequate training for the usage of the electronic tools with which they work? Do their competencies (or lack thereof) contribute to the improvement of their performance?
How prevalent are software-related issues in healthcare practices, and how much do they affect performance? Does the institution receive adequate support and troubleshooting assistance?
How stringent are data security policies concerning electronic tools at healthcare facilities? Are breaches of privacy frequent, and how significant are they?

Methodology

The study uses a mixed qualitative and quantitative design that consists of a qualitative literature review and a quantitative data collection. The first part of the study involved the collection of literature on the topics that are related to the research questions. It was then analyzed to identify significant trends and the current outlook on these concerns. The second aspect involved the usage of a questionnaire that consisted of 12 questions, which is provided below. The questions were partially based on the results of the qualitative review to confirm the relationship of its findings with working environments. It is a closed-form survey where the respondents can choose one of several options in response. The decision not to use open-form replies was made to simplify the analysis process due to time and resource constraints.

The literature was gathered using several databases, including the University of Arizona library, Google Scholar, and ProQuest. The primary keywords that were included in the search were ‘technology,’ ‘collaboration,’ and ‘healthcare.’ The pursuits also incorporated a variety of secondary keywords that would direct them toward a more specific topic, such as ‘project management’ or ‘conflict.’ A total of six papers that cover different issues was produced, with the number being limited due to time constraints. For the quantitative part of the study, the authors have contacted 38 medical practitioners in different organizations and positions. Thirty-two of the people who were contacted have responded, and 30 have successfully filled surveys that can be used for analysis. The researchers have anonymized the responses and will not disclose the personal data of the respondents per ethics requirements.

The information that was gathered during the qualitative step underwent content analysis to determine the underlying trends of the literature that was reviewed. The central ideas of each paper were processed, and their relationship to the research questions was analyzed. Then, the resulting suggestions were used to make suggestions and formulate questions for the quantitative study. Due to the small sample size as well as time and resource limitations, the quantitative data were processed on a basic level. The responses were divided into percentages, and any significant values underwent a more in-depth investigation. The researchers attempted to link these outlying responses to the findings from the literature. The results of the process are presented in the following section, separated into categories for each research question.

Findings

Collaboration and Communication Methods and Tools

Collaborative technologies have been seeing increasing adoption in the field of healthcare ever since their introduction. Househ and Lau (2005) conclude that there is a high likelihood that collaborative technologies can improve the performance of healthcare teams, though they also highlight the lack of studies on the topic. In particular, collaboration technologies can help organizations enhance their long-term management of patients with chronic conditions. With that said, some significant disadvantages are associated with collaboration software, such as the increased isolation of the team members. It is challenging to establish the same level of communication at a distance as what would be possible in face-to-face discussions. As such, healthcare teams should be careful to implement collaborative tools where appropriate and use them in areas where they will improve care.

Figure 1. Response chart for question 1.

Overall, there appears to be considerable division in the adoption of collaborative tools in healthcare. An equal portion of respondents claims that they either use collaborative tools little or not at all and that they apply these instruments extensively, as can be seen in Figure 1. This discrepancy may be attributed to different work environments, with nurses needing them less because their work involves physical contact with patients, and they will usually be present at the facility. On the other hand, physicians would typically work with patient data from a distance, overseeing their medical statistics as much or more than their visual condition. The opinions regarding the effectiveness of these tools are split more evenly, which may be indicative of a discrepancy of implementation. As a result, the success of the initiative would depend on the individual more than the organization.

Project Management Methods and Tools

Project management is not generally a topic that is frequently discussed in the field of healthcare, possibly because of its disassociation from more traditional businesses. With that said, most facilities continuously try to improve their services and improve their efficiency through initiatives that have to be guided to success. Gomes and Romão (2016) note that healthcare can benefit from the application of project management, particularly in its relationship with information technologies. Information technologies have been an essential part of this transformation process due to the possibilities that they offer for the improvement of healthcare services. As such, the questions of whether these tools are used extensively as well as whether their usage has led to significant benefits for the adopters in terms of their project management capabilities warrant asking.

A substantial majority of the respondents have had project management tools used at their organizations, at least to some significant degree. The finding indicates that these methods are increasingly being adopted by healthcare organizations, though substantial progress still needs to be made until the process is complete. However, a more interesting finding is that shown in figure 2, where almost half of the respondents assert that the methods have had no effect while another quarter states that the effects were weak. The result is indicative of a failure to adopt the tools despite management commitment to doing so meaningfully. It is possible that, per Gomes and Romão (2016), many healthcare organizations are not mature enough to succeed in their project management. However, the efforts to adopt it suggest the possibility that the situation may change in the future or that the survey’s results are outliers.

Managing Conflicts from a Distance

Conflicts are prevalent in healthcare due to the variety of professions and contexts that often interact in the treatment of a patient. The people involved do not necessarily have opportunities to meet to discuss the treatment of each patient that requires a multidisciplinary intervention, which leads them to prescribe conflicting procedures and confront each other about them. Barr et al. (2017) highlight the ability of collaborative tools to facilitate professional conflict resolution in chronic disease through the improved ability to communicate and coordinate. These tools allow team members to share information in real-time without the need to arrange meetings, which enables others to respond to their proposals and offer changes before they are implemented. Moreover, leaders can identify ongoing conflicts and the context that surrounds them, which enables them to find specialized and effective resolutions.

Figure 3. Leader conflict intervention patterns.

With that said, the context of healthcare is still reliant on physical presence for the reasons that are mentioned above. As figure 3 shows, while more than half of the respondents’ leaders have adopted long-distance collaborative tools, a significant minority still rely entirely on physical presence. The finding does not necessarily indicate a low level of adoption for collaborative technologies for conflict management in healthcare. It is possible that nursing leaders and some other medical professionals actively participate in treatments to a degree where they do not need to engage in long-distance communication. Meanwhile, physicians and other workers who oversee many patients at once benefit from a system where they can view information and make decisions about different cases from their office. The results from question 6, where only a minority of leaders improve their conflict management ability when working from a distance, appear to support this conclusion.

Technology Training

Training is a significant concern in the adoption of electronic systems that are meant to replace traditional aspects of care. Workers need to be convinced that the new approach will improve their productivity or provide other benefits, which will not necessarily manifest if they do not learn to use the tools adequately. Gnanlet et al. (2019) express concerns regarding the weak standardization of training for healthcare technology and reduced medical worker expectations that result and inhibit the software’s adoption. However, while the medical software that is used remains in its early stages and exhibits high degrees of diversity, standardization is challenging. As a result, medical professionals will likely struggle to use it to its full capacity unless the tools’ provider invests in training. Because of this lack of understanding, they will possibly refuse to switch their workflow for the functions in which their capacity is lacking.

Figure 4. Software adoption refusal by medical professionals.

The findings indicate that, while medical software companies make efforts to train the workers at the facilities that adopt their products, these efforts may not be enough to guarantee complete adoption. The results of question 7 show a broad distribution of opinion regarding the training that the respondents received, with most respondents receiving some form of education but less than half being satisfied with it. However, satisfaction is a highly subjective metric that does necessarily portray the entire picture of the situation. Question 8, the answers to which are depicted in figure 4, shows that nearly half of the respondents delegate a majority of their work that can be done electronically to other methods. Only a small portion of the respondents use the software to its full effects, which is likely indicative of both software issues and a lack of competency that results from inadequate training.

Technology Troubleshooting and Support

Issues that manifest when one uses the technology are another factor that is likely to hinder adoption and reduce the attractiveness of technological solutions. Particularly severe failures can paralyze the work of the department or lead to the loss of vital data, which is not the case for established physical storage systems. Jacques and Watson (2017) add that many healthcare organizations only contact their software vendors after a significant failure, such as those described above, occurs. As a result, minor problems that interfere in medical professionals’ day-to-day work are generally not addressed. These workers then either cope with the difficulty or search for alternate options, which often involve avoiding the software altogether. Until medical facilities take a more proactive stance regarding quality control and vendor accountability, these challenges will likely also create adoption difficulties.

Figure 5. Software issue manifestation rates.

The results show a significant disparity in the quality of the software and the services that medical facilities use. As shown in figure 5, while a substantial portion of the respondents reported having no issues, half experienced considerable amounts of errors or more. The result may be attributed to the high number of vendors that supply medical facilities with software, whose products vary considerably in terms of their quality. In terms of technical support and assistance, question 10 shows a broad and roughly equal distribution of results. It further reflects the variety of product suppliers and their different degrees of focus on technical support and troubleshooting. It is possible to assert that vendors do not consider support a vital part of their products, and the degree to which they provide it depends on the specific company.

Data Security

Security and privacy are prominent issues in healthcare, as care facilities often work with sensitive patient information. There are specific laws, such as the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, which punish privacy violations severely and promote security. To that end, they adopt strict disclosure policies that can lead to violators being fired or losing their certification as medical workers. The field of technology offers considerable opportunity for data security issues, both accidental and caused by malicious actors. Moreover, as Kisekka and Giboney (2018) report, patients view the overall quality of their care as lower if there are weak privacy safeguards in place. As such, healthcare facilities should consider security essential and value it as one of the most prominent aspects of the software that they adopt.

The results of the survey confirm these ideas and provide additional context for the reasons why medical facility value security significantly. Question 12 shows that a majority of the various healthcare organizations where the respondents work had incidents that, combined, caused considerable or severe damage to their organization. As a result, figure 6, which demonstrates the spread of replies to question 11, shows an overwhelming focus on security among these different facilities. To avoid further losses of finances and trust, healthcare providers attempt to implement stringent privacy protection practices to prevent accidental data leakages or breaches. This focus is generally appropriate due to the nature of healthcare work, and it may explain why some providers do not emphasize other aspects, such as training or support, to a satisfactory degree.

Selection and Practical Implementation of Collaboration Tools in the Company

The company under consideration needs to implement specific technologies aimed at establishing collaboration, and the conducted research will help to make recommendations and describe the ways it can adopt them for its future benefit. In order to do this, it is necessary to evaluate the company’s current working environment and reveal the existing malfunction in the use of software that does not promote collaboration (see Tip Sheet). As can be seen from the general information, collaboration is Universal Assistance’s first priority as the projects are done by teams located all over the world. Therefore, the tools suggested for it should be orientated not only on the use within a company’s principal office but also on their adoption in all of its branches in order to connect them and ensure the proper exchange of medical information.

To suggest a collaboration tool that would be beneficial for UA, it is also critical to consider various factors influencing the adoption and the use of the existing software technologies by nurses and other employees. The absence of knowledge on the topic is conditional upon the lack of previous research in the context of the company, which is crucial in terms of revealing possible collaboration issues. General information cannot be useful in the case of UA due to the existing diversity of working environments in similar businesses and the difference in perceptions (Househ & Lau, 2005). The conducted survey revealed a number of issues arising from the attempts of managers to instill new software technologies enhancing collaboration. This information would allow defining such factors and eliminating them in the process of a new tool adoption.

The first factor influencing the choice of a software solution intended to address the current needs of UA is the unwillingness of the company’s employees to adapt to technological changes. The survey showed that they believe that collaboration technologies are problematic despite the apparent inefficiency of the existing tools in communicating and transmitting data across the countries. Therefore, their choice and practical implementation should be complemented by proper training of medical staff to ensure their full use in the future for the benefit of UA. This factor would be eliminated in the case the employees would change their perceptions under the influence of the company’s managers as well as their use of new medical technologies.

The second factor relates to the increased isolation of staff members while using collaboration software. However, in the case of UA, most operations are conducted at a distance, and the proper use of collaboration technologies identifies the overall efficiency of the company. Hence, training of personnel would also contribute to the solution of this problem as nurses should understand that their success at work at UA is directly connected to the use of collaboration tools. About half of their health practitioners need electronic tools but do not use them properly as they find them inconvenient and insecure in terms of privacy. Face-to-face discussions are helpful but not in the case of a company with various branches all over the world. Therefore, the first two factors represent the barriers related to the medical staff and their perceptions and resistance to change.

The third factor is the need for long-term patient management, which is unmet by the company’s managers due to the inefficiency of current collaboration tools. It is especially important for patients with chronic conditions, and this fact leads to the necessity to readjust the use of software technologies for their benefit (Barr et al., 2017). It is complemented by the necessity to manage conflicts at a distance and manage long-term projects. The company’s leaders still prefer physical presence for this purpose, but this method is extremely inefficient in the current working environment. UA risks to fail to adopt and utilize the collaboration technologies without the consideration of the factors mentioned above. Therefore, it is necessary to select a new tool addressing all of the needs of UA and facilitating the work of nurses.

The collaboration tool allowing the company to solve the existing problems should include all of the factors, and this fact defines the apparent efficiency of such technologies like cloud platforms. In the case of UA, G Suite for healthcare would be an extremely beneficial solution (Collaboration Software for Healthcare, 2020). It will help to address all of the company’s issues. Streamline patient care as a new way of collaboration will be efficient in terms of long-term management and conflict resolution. The use of video conferencing will allow nurses and managers to hold any virtual meetings (Collaboration Software for Healthcare, 2020). During the conversation, they will be able to exchange any medical information in a safe and secure manner.

Screen sharing allowing for sending documents and images fully complies with the principles of data privacy protection. It is conditional upon the policies of Google supporting the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) (Collaboration Software for Healthcare, 2020). In this way, nurses would be more confident in using the program, and it will contribute to eliminating the barriers described above. The company will only need to sign an agreement with Google and use the product without any emerging privacy issues.

The storage of patient information is an essential task for such an international company as UA, and this need is also met by G Suite. Using the program, health practitioners from all of the company’s offices would have authorized access to the necessary data (Collaboration Software for Healthcare, 2020). The medical cloud platform thereby ensures the convenience of its use for nurses, which corresponds to one of the limiting factors identified in the course of the study. Hence, the use of G Suite would allow addressing all of the existing issues as well as preventing the emergence of new problems resulting from a possible breach of privacy or inconveniences connected to communication among the company’s employees.

Conclusion

This paper has uncovered an overview of the state of adoption of collaborative technologies in healthcare. While it has advanced considerably since the emergence of these new methods and tools, there are also significant problems that hinder the process. Some of the specific aspects of healthcare favor physical presence and contact, which make specialized technologies unnecessary in these cases. Additionally, there is resistance among workers toward the adoption of collaborative tools because of several reasons. One is the lack of training, which makes it more efficient for them to keep using their old methods. Another is the relative novelty of these technologies in healthcare, which leads to the emergence of numerous bugs that the vendors do not necessarily work to address. The reason why they may not be focused on doing so is the importance of security in healthcare, which takes substantial effort on the part of the provider and may also be the reason why more widespread tools cannot necessarily be adopted.

Another valuable contribution of the paper is the recommendations for UA, allowing to address the emerging issues and the suggestion to use G Suite for their current and future needs. In the course of the study, several factors influencing the use and the adoption of technologies were identified. Their consideration and the consequent comparison with the features of G Suite allowed to conclude on the efficiency of this cloud platform in eliminating the company’s problems. They result from the lack of knowledge of medical staff, their resistance to change, the unmet needs relating to establishing collaboration between the company’s offices, and the preferences of leaders in physical presence, which is inefficient for the current working environment. Thus, the use of G Suite will be an excellent solution for all the needs of UA.

Back Matter

References

Barr, N., Vania, D., Randall, G., & Mulvale, G. (2017). Impact of information and communication technology on interprofessional collaboration for chronic disease management: A systematic review. Journal of Health Services Research & Policy, 22(4), 250–257.

Batt-Rawden, K. B., Björk, E., & Waaler, D. (2017). Human factors in implementation and adoption of innovations in health care services: A longitudinal case study on the introduction of new technology. The Innovation Journal, 22(3).

Collaboration Software for Healthcare – G Suite. (2020). Web.

Gnanlet, A., Choi, M., & Davoudpour, S. (2019). Impediments to the implementation of healthcare information technology: A systematic literature review. Journal of Supply Chain and Operations Management, 17(1), 136-156.

Gomes, J., & Romão, M. (2016). Investments in information systems and technology in the healthcare: Project management mediation. Journal of Information Systems Engineering & Management, 1(1), 15-24.

Herndon, J. H., Hwang, R., & Bozic, K. H. (2007). Healthcare technology and technology assessment. European Spine Journal, 16(8), 1293-1302.

Househ, M. S., & Lau, F. Y. (2005). Collaborative technology use by healthcare teams. Journal of Medical Systems, 29(5), 449-461.

Jacques, S., & Watson, A. (2017). Proactive vendor management for healthcare technology. Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology, 51(2), 116-119.

Kisekka, V., & Giboney, J. S. (2018). The effectiveness of health care information technologies: Evaluation of trust, security beliefs, and privacy as determinants of health care outcomes. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 20(4).

Mather, C. A., & Cummings, E. (2019). Developing and sustaining digital professionalism: A model for assessing readiness of healthcare environments and capability of nurses. BMJ Health & Care Informatics, 26(1).

Wang, C., Wood, L. C., Abdul-Rahman, H., & Lee, Y. T. (2016). When traditional information technology project managers encounter the cloud: Opportunities and dilemmas in the transition to cloud services. International Journal of Project Management, 34(3), 371-388.

Appendices

Tip Sheet

This tip sheet is intended to be digital.

Annotated Bibliography

The authors discuss the potential benefits of using collaboration technologies in chronic health care. They conduct a literature review that finds three themes: conflict management, collective engagement, and continuous learning. The study used sound, peer-reviewed sources and was published in a journal with a substantial presence.

The authors discuss the adoption of innovative technologies in healthcare and the issues that are associated with the process. They conduct a longitudinal qualitative case study of 26 healthcare employees and find that, due to a lack of competency in using the devices, medical staff expressed dissatisfaction and an unwillingness to adapt. The sample size is small but likely sufficient for qualitative research, and the themes that were identified warrant consideration.

The authors analyze the barriers that obstruct the implementation of information technology in healthcare. They conduct a broad-scope literature review across several disciplines and find limited buy-in, lack of risk and safety management tools, physician resistance, lack of standardized training, and other concerns. The paper selection procedure was broad and extensive, which lends credibility to the paper.

The authors discuss the usage of information systems in healthcare and its relationship with project management. They formulate a conceptual model where project management acts as a mediating factor for project success, which is based on organizational maturity. With that said, the study is in the theoretical stage, and while the model may be valid, there is no conclusive proof of its correctness.

Herndon, J. H., Hwang, R., & Bozic, K. H. (2007). Healthcare technology and technology assessment. European Spine Journal, 16(8), 1293-1302.

The authors attempt to outline innovation in the healthcare technology sector and the factors that facilitate or inhibit it. They express concerns regarding the efficacy of the tools that are introduced, as manufacturers will typically rush them to the market before obtaining conclusive evidence of their effectiveness. As a result, the authors highlight a need to develop a framework that secures new technology adoption while also incorporating valid trials. The study is well-referenced, but its age means that the situation may have changed since its writing.

Househ, M. S., & Lau, F. Y. (2005). Collaborative technology use by healthcare teams. Journal of Medical Systems, 29(5), 449-461.

The authors conduct a literature review of sources between 1980 and 2003 to evaluate the benefits of collaborative technologies in healthcare. They find proof of several advantages but also identify a lack of relevant literature, to which end they suggest future research directions. The study’s methodology and results are likely valid, but its age raises concern, since new technologies and accompanying literature may have emerged since then.

Jacques, S., & Watson, A. (2017). Proactive vendor management for healthcare technology. Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology, 51(2), 116-119.

The authors consider the role of healthcare organizations in ensuring that they receive the support that is established in contracts when they purchase software. They claim that medical facilities are not sufficiently proactive in holding providers accountable, only contacting vendors in crises when the issues are causing actual harm. However, while the journal is peer-reviewed, the lack of references in the study is alarming and warrants a discussion of the paper’s validity.

The authors research the topic of data security and its role in ensuring the success of healthcare information technology. Using a sample of 3677 cancer patients, they evaluate the relationship between information safety and perceived quality of care, between which they find a link. The study is published in a journal with a high impact factor and appears to have a valid methodology, which lends credence to the results.

The authors discuss the usage of digital technologies in Australian healthcare in terms of competencies. They develop a professionalism model where nurses become capable users that can troubleshoot the applications that they use in case of issues. The paper is well-referenced and has substantial practical implications, which warrant consideration.

The authors consider cloud computing and its applications in terms of opportunities and issues. They survey IT project managers and find opportunities to substantially improve project deliverables through the introduction of these technologies, though issues such as privacy, security, and legislation. The methodology appears to be valid, and the journal has a high impact factor, which supports the study’s validity.

Questionnaire Questions

How often do you use electronic collaboration and communication tools in your day-to-day work?
1. Not at all
2. Not much
3. Sometimes
4. Often
5. All the time
How much does the usage of these tools enhance your productivity as a part of a team?
1. Not at all
2. Not much
3. Somewhat
4. Considerably
5. A lot
How common are electronic collaboration tools in your organization’s efforts to implement new initiatives and complete projects?
1. Not at all
2. Not very
3. Somewhat
4. Considerably
5. Very
How much has the performance of your organization’s projects improved since the introduction of these tools?
1. Not at all
2. Not much
3. Somewhat
4. Considerably
5. A lot
When leaders intervene in workplace conflicts and attempt to resolve or de-escalate them, are they usually present physically, or do they use long-distance communication tools?
1. Physically present
2. Both
3. Long-distance
Do you believe that the ability of leaders at your organization to manage conflicts improves or declines when they are not physically present?
1. Declines strongly
2. Declines somewhat
3. Does not change
4. Improves somewhat
5. Improves considerably
How would you describe the completeness of the training that you have received for the software that you use at your work?
1. No training
2. Poor
3. Adequate
4. Satisfactory
5. Complete
Are there any aspects of your work that you are supposed to do using electronic tools but do not comply with the requirement because it is inconvenient?
1. No tasks
2. Small portion of the tasks
3. Half of the tasks
4. A majority of tasks
5. Most of my work
How often do your software manifest errors and other issues that complicate its usage?
1. Not at all
2. Not much
3. Somewhat
4. Considerably
5. A lot
Do you receive adequate technical support and troubleshooting assistance when such incidents take place?
1. No assistance
2. Inadequate assistance
3. Some assistance
4. Decent assistance
5. Excellent assistance
Does your facility emphasize data security and patient privacy in your usage of electronic collaboration and communication tools?
1. No
2. Yes
Have any incidents that are related to these concerns taken place recently at your facility? If so, how severe were they in terms of damage to the organization?
1. No incidents
2. Little damage
3. Some damage
4. Considerable damage
5. Severe damage