The Development and Diffusion of IS Standards in the Canadian Healthcare Industry: An Industry Level Analysis

There are major steps being taken at national, provincial, regional, and organizational levels to increase the implementation of information systems (IS) in the healthcare system. Developing and implementing nationally accessible electronic health records in the form of panCanadian electronic health records is the ultimate goal for the Canadian government. The solution called for by the healthcare industry involves the continuous development and diffusion of healthcare industry vertical standards to enable seamless electronic integration. Our proposed research project is an exploratory case study which will address the following research question: What are the processes taking place as the Canadian healthcare industry develops and diffuses vertical industry standards to achieve interoperability and integration? By taking a socio-technical perspective to answering this question, we will further research on standards development and diffusion enabling us to assist in the development of relevant guidelines to serve the practitioner community in developing and diffusing vertical industry standards.