TRABAJO DE MÁQUINAS EN HOSPITALES VIRTUALES: LA VIDA TRAS BAMBALINAS EN UN SERVICIO DE TELEMEDICINA

Implementing processes based on information and communication technologies produces profound transformations in health care systems. This paper explores the experience of technological development and support teams in a telemedicine unit in Chile. Informed by the sociologies of translation and the invisible, I propose understanding the machine work that unfolds on this site in terms of forms of machination. These involve translating and aligning the interests of actors that are both external and internal to the health service. On the internal front, machine work entails sensory and data work, the latter comprising both the articulation of tasks and the care of patients. Addressing the different dimensions allows bringing to light the complexity of the tasks involved and the mechanisms that make them go mainly behind the scenes.