Digitalization and co-creation of healthcare value: a case study in Occupational Health

This paper discusses how digitalization of healthcare empowers stakeholders to interact and co-create value. The literature so far has focused on the benefits of healthcare value co-creation through digital technologies (DTs) from the patients and providers’ perspective. It has viewed patients and providers in isolation focusing on the benefits accruing to the healthcare system but has not shed light upon the role of DT during interactions between stakeholders to co-create healthcare value. To address this gap, this research uses a case of the ‘Occupational Health Adviceline’ (OHA), a DT-enabled Occupational Health (OH) service introduced in England to provide support and advice to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). We draw upon the affordances and S-D Logic concepts to illustrate how technology enables stakeholder (employees, employers, and contact centre advisors and OH nurses) empowerment and allows them to interact and co-create healthcare value. Our contribution lies in discussing the importance of DTs through the affordances and S-D Logic lenses in how digitalization facilitates value co-creation through empowering stakeholders while providing new forms of visibility management.