‘Data Saves Lives’: Data Work in a Healthcare Business Intelligence Unit

TY - GEN

T1 - ‘Data Saves Lives’

T2 - ECSCW 2023

AU - Pedersen, Asbjørn Malte

PY - 2023/6

Y1 - 2023/6

N2 - Big Data and the digitalization of healthcare has encouraged a movement towards becoming data-driven. Although hailed as a solution to a plethora of challenges, the hype of Big Data, however, often oversees that data requires work – by humans. The emergent field of data work emphasizes these skilled but oft-invisible efforts required to make healthcare data-driven. Based on an ethnographic study, this project investigates data work in a healthcare business intelligence unit. The project’s purpose is to identify the skills and tasks that constitute data work within the unit, as well as how healthcare data work roles and tasks change in the process. In this paper, I present findings form my project: I first describe the collaborative work in constructing standardized and reliable data products that is applicable across multiple sites; I then describe the necessary work conducted to implement and disseminate data products in local healthcare practices. Finally, I summarize my next steps and expected contributions.

AB - Big Data and the digitalization of healthcare has encouraged a movement towards becoming data-driven. Although hailed as a solution to a plethora of challenges, the hype of Big Data, however, often oversees that data requires work – by humans. The emergent field of data work emphasizes these skilled but oft-invisible efforts required to make healthcare data-driven. Based on an ethnographic study, this project investigates data work in a healthcare business intelligence unit. The project’s purpose is to identify the skills and tasks that constitute data work within the unit, as well as how healthcare data work roles and tasks change in the process. In this paper, I present findings form my project: I first describe the collaborative work in constructing standardized and reliable data products that is applicable across multiple sites; I then describe the necessary work conducted to implement and disseminate data products in local healthcare practices. Finally, I summarize my next steps and expected contributions.

KW - Business intelligence

KW - Big data

KW - Data work

KW - Data-driven

KW - Healthcare

KW - Ethnography

KW - Business intelligence

KW - Big data

KW - Data work

KW - Data-driven

KW - Healthcare

KW - Ethnography

U2 - 10.48340/ecscw2023_dc04

DO - 10.48340/ecscw2023_dc04

M3 - Article in proceedings

T3 - Reports of the European Society for Socially Embedded Technologies:

SP - 1

BT - Proceedings of the 21st European Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work

PB - European Society for Socially Embedded Technologies (EUSSET)

Y2 - 5 June 2023 through 9 June 2023

ER -