JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Two recently published viewpoint articles in JMIR highlighted the two faces of medical informatics research. On the one hand, they spotlight the significant advances digital technologies bring to health management and delivery. Technological advances of the last decade have transformed healthcare worldwide. Consumers have access to digital health tools, gathering an unprecedented amount of data available for gaining personalized insights. Digital technologies support medical professionals in clinical and administrative work, unlike ever before. On the other hand, these articles emphasize the persisting divide between the potential of these technologies and their integration into everyday practice. Substantial barriers remain that often hinder the broader adoption of digital health tools. In this Viewpoint article, we offer a perspective often overlooked in Medical Informatics: The incompatibility of co-existing solutions in complex socio-technical contexts. It problematizes underlying assumptions in Medical Informatics– and design-oriented research approaches like Design Science Research, more precisely – by conceptualizing the „solution trap“. Medical Informatics brings diverse cultures and theories together, causing tensions in different institutional logics in practice. We emphasize the need for a nuanced understanding of context unevenness and propose solution patchwork as a coordination approach to evade the solution trap. The solution patchwork sensitizes Medical Informatics research and designers to navigate the problem and solution spaces in health systems globally.