Medical Technology and Organizational Context: Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson Patients

Despite the long history of DBS, it's under lying objectives are still not clear. What can really be expected from this technique? What are its benefits for the patients? This study explores the way in which a medical technique is implemented in interaction with the local environment. Based on several months of fieldwork, the analysis shows how organizations shape the translation of medical techniques, influencing the way physicians use technologies but also influencing desirability and acceptability for patients. Four local organizational dynamics which affect the use of a medical technology have been identified: the sense-making of the medical technology, the involvement in the new technology, the allocation of this resource to patients and the setting of parameters. The results highlight that those organizational settings can have real effects on the patient's experience. This result is significant for the design of public health policies.