Digital technologies: An exploratory study of their role in the resilience of healthcare services.

Descriptions of resilient performance in healthcare services usually emphasize the role of skills and knowledge of caregivers. At the same time, the human factors discipline often frames digital technologies as sources of brittleness. This paper presents an exploratory investigation of the upside of ten digital technologies derived from Healthcare 4.0 (H4.0) in terms of their perceived contribution to six healthcare services and the four abilities of resilient healthcare: monitor, anticipate, respond, and learn. This contribution was assessed through a multinational survey conducted with 109 experts. Emergency rooms (ERs) and intensive care units (ICUs) stood out as the most benefited by H4.0 technologies. That is consistent with the high complexity of those services, which demand resilient performance. Four H4.0 technologies were top ranked regarding their impacts on the resilience of those services. They are further explored in follow-up interviews with ER and ICU professionals from hospitals in emerging and developed economies to collect examples of applications in their routines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]