The aim of the project is to analyze how the medical practice of cardiologists changes when they work at distance and the communication between the general practitioner, the operator of the call center and the cardiologist is mediated by computer.

Current research also includes an analysis of the effects of distance on the formulation of diagnosis and disease management. Research will address in particular the meaning negotiation activities and discursive practices that allow medical doctors and nurses to perform their duties at a distance through the use ICTs. This will include an exploration of how these new activities affect professional identities and boundaries between roles and repsonibilities. It is expected that this piece of work will have significant implication for the training of these new professionals.

This project is co-funded by the Ministry of Research, and carried out in collaboration with the Universities of Rome, Padua, Milan and Bologna and the Department of Informatics of the University of Trento.