Table 1.

Eight Dimensions of the Socio-Technical Model for Health Information Technology

Dimension	Description
Hardware and software	The computing infrastructure used to power, support, and operate clinical applications and devices
Clinical content	The text, numeric data, and images that constitute the “language” of clinical applications
Human-computer interface	All aspects of technology that users can see, touch, or hear as they interact with it
People	All individuals who interact with technology, including developers, users, IT personnel, and informaticians
Workflow and communication	Processes used to provide patient care
Organizational policies and workflows	Policies, procedures, work-environment, and culture
External rules and regulation	Federal or state rules that facilitate or constrain organizational activities
Measurement and monitoring	Processes to evaluate both intended and unintended consequences of health informational technology implementation and use