This paper is based on a case study involving 64 users of a Hospital Information System implanted in a large hospital in the City of Recife, Brazil. It is originated from the idea that the introduction of an information system should be regarded as an organizational change process, since it has a great potential of interfering with various aspects of the organization. The proposed hypothesis is that an information system tends to be considered efficacious when it is perceived as an element that contributes to the fulfilling of institutional objectives. In this study, was observed a positive correlation of 0.5011 between the degree of effectiveness attributed to the information system and the level of improvement in the quality of patient care perceived from the point of view of a group of users that works more directly with the pacients at the administrative tasks. The results suggest that the relationship between the variables may occur according to the degree that the proposed objectives, those formally declared, are congruent with the organizational objectives, those effectively sought by the personnel within the organization, and denominated by Perrow as operational objectives.
organizational change; organizational objectives; information technology; information systems; hospital informatics
