SYSTEMS THEORY vs. DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION THEORY

EVIDENCED-BASED PRACTICE

Systems theory and diffusion of innovation theory

Systems theory and healthcare delivery in the U.S.

According to theorist Ludwig von Bertalanffy, it is essential to view organisms -- both living and man-made -- as functional systems in a holistic sense to understand their true nature. This principle is manifested in the human body and also the organizations which provide healthcare. "A complex adaptive system is a collection of individual agents with freedom to act in ways that are not always totally predictable, and whose actions are interconnected so that one agent's actions changes the context for other agents. Examples include the immune system, a colony of termites, the financial market, and just about any collection of humans (for example, a family, a committee, or a primary healthcare team)" (Plsek & Greenhalgh 2001: 625).

Complex systems, such as the healthcare delivery system,...
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