[Socio-technical studies may enhance our understanding of complex work practices].

Socio-technical approaches to the study of IT applications enhance our understanding of how they are developed, implemented and become a part of the daily work practice. The framework for these studies comprises three areas: Health care practices as heterogeneous networks, the nature of health care work and the empirical orientation with an emphasis on qualitative methods. The socio-technical approach sees technological innovation as a social process and makes use of in-depth formative evaluations to achieve improvements of system design and implementation.