4. Healthcare Knowledge Management and Problem Structuring

Technology can be of tremendous aid in the capture, recording and retrieval of information. This can lead to direct benefits for improvement in the quality of care, clinical audit, performance management and above all, knowledge management. This chapter shares my experience of application of systems thinking in a mega knowledge management project in the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. This experience was spread through a period of three years and I applied various problem structuring methods during this tenure. The context was the sensitisation and implementation of a knowledge management strategy in the NHS within the ambit of a large healthcare Information Technology (IT) programme. Out of a range of problem structuring methods used in several instances, I will talk about the application of Viable Systems Model (VSM) for an organisational intervention I was part of. My approach to VSM was influenced by critical thinking that drove me to use several qualitative tools to aid in my understanding of the problem situation. The arguments presented here showcase the importance of bringing together the human and the technical aspects as interrelated within the larger system, and not to be regarded as two disparate dimensions.