Socio-Technical+System

A Socio-Technical system or a STS is any system that involves interaction between people and technology. A STS can also be any system that represents social human interaction through technology, for example many areas of study from business to health look for ways to bridge social interaction with technology, a STS can frame these studies into and easy to read models that will help businessmen and health experts find a middle ground between technology and social interactions to develop new technologies that will benefit them and the people.
 * What is a Socio-Technical System?**


 * Example of STS:**

A Socio-Technical System for health informatics can be very detailed due to a lot of factors that must considered, for example if a health clinic wanted to create a new software that would easily manage patient health records electronically and allow patients to view their records online the group creating and implementing this software would have to acquire a lot of knowledge from patient to clinician interaction and understand how the clinic operates and how informed its employees are about technology. If the employees were accustomed to a certain type of interface you would have to know about to include it in the software. The software would have to represent the way employees and patients communicate on a daily basis and be tweaked to their desirability. As the future unfolds more and more people are turning to technology to make their lives easier especially in the health industry, for example there are many technologies nowadays that allow patients to treat themselves at home rather than going to a clinic or doctor’s office, This is possible due to Socio-technical systems which gain an understanding of what people want in technology. The Image above illustrates a Socio-Technical Model for HIT, it displays the main factors a person must know when creating new health software. The user interface must be easy enough to understand to appeal to both clinicians and the patients, The IT professionals would have to have a understanding of how it works and how to implement it. In order for the software to work it would have to be compatible with the hardware or the computers in the clinic and the software's content would also have to abide to clinic procedures and regulations. These are only some factors that would have to be considered when making an application or technological device for health. Socio-Technical systems are essential in the health industry to help the general public and clinicians understand how a technology can benefit them socially and technologically. Through these systems we were able to see many new technologies arise for example electronic health records or EHR's which are now the leading type of patient records. These records are easy to back up, find, and keep track of due to them being in easy accessible databases that were created by Socio-technical systems. Through STS we will continue to see technologies like EHR software develop due to an increase in social human interaction and technology.
 * HIT Socio-Technical Systems**


 * References:**
 * Socio-Technical System**
 * Socio-technical Model for Studying Health Information Technology **