The effects of electronic appointment booking systems on the time management
activities of health professionals have received little attention to date. We
report on time management practices in three outpatient physiotherapy
departments with different paper and electronic systems. The study has
identified a set of time management activities and associated social behaviours
common to physiotherapy departments. The convenience, flexibility and expressive
nature of paper diary systems is of significant value to users, whilst the
clarity and superior database functionality of electronic systems are valued by
staff using this medium. The study highlights several potential barriers to the
effective deployment of electronic booking systems in physiotherapy departments,
including poor resource and training provision, concerns regarding restrictive
diary control measures, the continued reliance on burdensome duplication
procedures and the need to coordinate multiple information artefacts, which need
to be addressed if such technology is to be successfully designed and deployed.