Social technologies and a collaborative culture can help with knowledge translation in the health sector.

1. Collaborative Culture?

2. Knowledge Management in Canadian Health:
Improving knowledge translation
by embracing complexity.
Thom Kearney
MGMT5001

3. "Knowledge is of two kinds.
We know a subject ourselves, or we know
where we can find information upon it. “
Samuel Johnson (Boswell's Life of Johnson)

4. Agenda
• Health information in Canada
• Key concepts:
– Knowledge creations funnel
– Complex adaptive systems
• Opportunities for solutions (problems)
• Embracing the complexity
• A personal example

5. Canadian Health system overview
Jurisdictions
Yukon NWT
Nunavut
Less than 1% pop PEI
British
Columbia Alberta Canadian
Infoway Health Forces CIC
10-15 % pop Canada RCMP
HC
VAC PHAC
CIHI
Corrections
PHAC Federal
CIHR Healthcare Partnership
Quebec Federal Influence Less than 1% pop
23-40% pop Ontario New
Manitoba Brunswick
Saskatchewan Newfoundland Nova Scotia
and Labrador 1-5 % pop

6. Knowledge Action Cycle

7. Knowledge Creation Funnel
Bottle Neck

8. Complex adaptive system
Individuals using simple rules, Components
acting for their own reasons • Self organization
create an adaptive system. • Emergence
• Relationships
• Feedback
• Adaptability
• Non-Linearity
Interactions, relationships within the context of the
network result in dynamic knowledge sharing.
(Robeson, 2009)

9. Opportunities for solutions
• Knowledge translation takes too long.
Especially creating knowledge tools
• Resources are limited and jurisdictions tend to
do the same sorts of things (duplication is
bad)
• Knowledge is leaving for the golf course

10. Embrace the complexity
Employ social technologies:
• Connect all health professionals in Canada
• No personal health data
• Open and closed groups of all types
• Multiple layers of security and veracity
• Make it easy to join, easy to share
Design for the six components of a complex adaptive system:
Self organization Emergence Relationships
Feedback Adaptability Non-Linearity

11. Example

12. Conclusion
• Social technologies can help with knowledge
translation in health.
• Culture will take time to change, social
technologies encourage sharing and trust
• Critical mass matters, go big or go home.

14. Shared platform
Shared Benefits
Efficiency and focus
Interoperability
ST&E Connectedness
Shared knowledge
Access
Agility
Shared Technology
Policy? Health Common profile
Standard xml
Open development
Governance – basic enablement and standards. National scope with connections