Understanding Health Information System Implementation in an Indonesian Primary Health Centre: A Sociotechnical Perspective

The implementation of health information systems (HIS) faces major challenges in developing countries. These challenges are due to the complex nature of the healthcare sector that involves complex interactions between various professional groups, technologies and organisational interest. This paper explores socio-technical challenges during a HIS implementation in a primary health centre (PHC) in Bandung City, Indonesia. An ActorNetwork Theory (ANT) informed qualitative case study is applied to explore how a variety of human and non-human actions influences the stability of the HIS implementation network and what factors preserve the durability of the HIS implementation. We found un-finished translation processes; vendor support and external encounters affect the stability of the network. However, organisational factors (management authority and support, staff adaptation, and local policy) can preserve implementation durability regardless of the limitations of the HIS.

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