Crossing Boundaries - Professional adoption of multidisciplinary innovations in health care

Abstract

Service deliverers in health care have to cooperate and integrate to become more efficient, effective and responsive to multi-problem situation of clients. This requires multidisciplinary organizational innovations. This thesis investigated why professionals adopt these innovations. The case of ParkinsonNet, a successful multidisciplinary innovation, was studied to provide an answer.

The results revealed a paradoxical relationship between professionalism and multidisciplinary innovations. Specialization of professionals is both a barrier as enabler for adoption. Adoption is a way to demarcate professional ‘exclusiveness’ towards other professionals, management and market parties. Furthermore, this study found that the organization of the innovation is able to stimulate adoption, by providing a solution and problem that correspond to the professional quest for specialization.