PROJECT INTERNET CATALONIA (PIC)

This study analyzed the interaction between organizational change, cultural values and technological change in the Catalan health system. The study is subdivided in five distinct parts. The first one is a content analysis of the webs related to health in Catalonia. The second is a study of the uses of Internet in health related issues among the population at large, the patients’ associations, and the health professionals, on the basis of an Internet survey adapted to each one of these groups. The third is a field work study of the experimental programs conducted by the Catalan government in several local areas and hospitals to integrate electronically the patients’ clinical history. The fourth is a study of the organizational implications of the introduction of information systems in the management of hospitals and primary care centers in the Catalan Institute of Health, the major public health provider in Catalonia, on the basis of an Internet survey and in-depth interviewing. The fifth is a case study of the organizational and social effects of the introduction of information and communication technologies in one of the leading hospitals of Catalonia, the Clinic Hospital of Barcelona. The study was conducted between May 2005 and July 2007.

Research team
Manuel Castells, professor at the UOC and director of the research project
Francisco Lupiáñez, lecturer at the UOC
Francesc Saigi, lecturer at the UOC
Josefina Sánchez, senior researcher at the IN3

In collaboration with:
Albert Fornieles, lecturer at the Autonomous University of Barcelona
Anna Graells, research assistant
Imma Grau, PhD student of the PhD programme at the UOC
Carolina Jiménez, research assistant
Salomé Larrea, lecturer at the Autonomous University of Barcelona
Mireia Utzet, research assistant

With the support of:

Research started in:
May, 2005

Research report finalized in:
June, 2007

Published in:
December, 2007