ANTECEDENTS OF THE PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONAL ASPECTS OF MEDICAL INFORMATICS - REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

People and organizational issues are critical in both implementing med ical informatics systems and in dealing with the altered organizations that new systems often create. The people and organizational issues a rea-like medical informatics itself-is a blend of many disciplines. Th e academic disciplines of psychology, sociology, social psychology, so cial anthropology, organizational behavior and organizational developm ent, management, and cognitive sciences are rich with research with si gnificant potential to ease the introduction and on-going use of infor mation technology in today's complex health systems. These academic ar eas contribute research data and core information for better understan ding of such issues as the importance of and processes for creating fu ture direction; managing a complex change process; effective strategie s for involving individuals and groups in the informatics effort; and effectively managing the altered organization. This article reviews th e behavioral and business referent disciplines that can potentially co ntribute to improved implementations and on-going management of change in the medical informatics arena.