Algorithmic Management in the Healthcare Sector: Evidence from case studies in Italy and France

This study report investigates how the technological transformation occurring in four Italian hospitals and two French hospitals affects their organisational processes and structure. The results show that the Italian establishments developed a higher degree of digitalisation rather than pure automation processes, hence entailing reorganisation of work processes more than human substitution. Indeed, the use of the technological tools and software described in the present study implied relevant changes in the work organisation, both in terms of methods and digital instruments used. However, no fear of substitution by the machine or perception of threat to the jobs of the medical staff and other workforce have been reported in any of the hospitals. Rather, it has emerged in more than one occasion how such technologies are more complementary and supportive to the medical staff’s decisions. In France, the findings reveal that the use of the algorithmic tools has reduced patient waiting times at the emergency room, increased work coordination, communication between medical services, and decreased stress for hospital staff. The paper concludes that the adoption of algorithmic management tools has increased the quality of life at work and highlights the potential for these tools to transform the health sector.