title: Web-based collaboration in individual care planning challenges the user and the provider roles - toward a power transition in caring relationships.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Individual Care Plan (ICP) was introduced in Norway to meet new statutory requirements for user participation in health care planning, incorporating multidisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration. A web-based solution (electronic ICP [e-ICP]) was used to support the planning and documentation. The aim of this study was to investigate how web-based collaboration challenged user and professional roles.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were obtained from 15 semistructured interviews with users and eight with care professionals, and from two focus-group interviews with eight care professionals in total. The data were analyzed using systematic text condensation in a stepwise analysis model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Users and care professionals took either a proactive or a reluctant role in e-ICP collaboration. Where both user and care professionals were proactive, the pairing helped to ensure that the planning worked well; so did pairings of proactive care professionals and reluctant users. Proactive users paired with reluctant care professionals also made care planning work, thanks to the availability of information and the users' own capacity or willingness to conduct the planning. Where both parties were reluctant, no planning activities occurred.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Use of the e-ICP challenged the user-professional relationship. In some cases, a power transition took place in the care process, which led to patient empowerment. This knowledge might be used to develop a new understanding of how role function can be challenged when users and care professionals have equal access to health care documentation and planning tools.
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Research Centre for Electronic Health Records (EHR), Medical Faculty, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway ; Faculty of Health Science, Nord-Trøndelag University College, Levanger, Norway.
authors.forename: Jorunn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bjerkan
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Science, Molde University College, Molde, Norway.
authors.forename: Solfrid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vatne
authors.affiliation: Møre og Romsdal Hospital Trust, Molde, Norway.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hollingen
keywords: Norway; empowerment; integrated care; patient participation; role transition; system testing; web-based collaboration