How and in what Contexts Does Networked Health IT Improve Patient Safety? Elicitation of Theories from the Literature

Healthcare systems worldwide are investing in networked health IT systems that link healthcare providers across multiple organisations. Much of the policy arguments in favour of such investment rely on the assumption that networked health IT will lead to improved patient safety. As part of the first stage of a realist review to determine how and in what contexts networked, inter-organisational health IT does lead to improved patient safety, we elicited stakeholders' theories from the literature that reveal possible answers to this question. A key mechanism appears to be that the information provided supports improved decision making. Greatest benefits are likely to be found in relation to medication information, in scenarios where the patient is less able to provide accurate information about their medications themselves. However, access and use of this information depends on ease of access, clinicians' perception of the likelihood that the desired information will be available, and clinicians' trust in the information.