The teleradiology system and changes in work practices

After the design and development of the teleradiology system, a work practice oriented approach was used to gain a more holistic understanding of the relationship between the emerging work practice and the newly implemented technology, and to provide information for redesigning the system. The approach which utilized ethnographically informed fieldwork and cooperative workshops was introduced. Cooperation, the chain of tasks, and articulation work of teleradiology work practice were described, with the focus on image interpretation in particular. From the point of view of radiolosists' image interpretation work, a report was made on how these findings influenced the evaluation and redesign of the system. Furthermore, the problematics ai distributed collaboration, reorganization of work, and education are emphasized. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.