Socio-Technical Analysis of the Benefits and Barriers to Using a Digital Representation of the Global Horse Population in Equine Veterinary Medicine

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Technological and social progress are often closely linked. There is a consensus that future medicine will benefit from the use of available health data. The form in which these health data will be available is crucial. For a comprehensive analysis, it is necessary to harmonize and link these data and enable seamless use across system boundaries. In this paper, we consider the field of equine veterinary health data. We propose a vision that data from the entire global horse population are utilized for the benefit of animal health and longevity. With this in mind, we examine social aspects influencing technical progress. Here, we use a socio-technical matrix as a tool. We reduce the overall complexity by limiting ourselves to the following: Technically, we consider the treasure trove of data from veterinary diagnostics and the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). Regarding social interactions, we focus on veterinarians and horse owners. Utilizing this socio-technical matrix, we branch out to identify barriers and enablers on the way to the vision. Additional elements, such as the slowly maturing awareness of horse owners regarding the value of these data as well as training of all parties in the handling of data, are identified to be crucial. ABSTRACT: There is a consensus that future medicine will benefit from a comprehensive analysis of harmonized, interconnected, and interoperable health data. These data can originate from a variety of sources. In particular, data from veterinary diagnostics and the monitoring of health-related life parameters using the Internet of Medical Things are considered here. To foster the usage of collected data in this way, not only do technical aspects need to be addressed but so do organizational ones, and to this end, a socio-technical matrix is first presented that complements the literature. It is used in an exemplary analysis of the system. Such a socio-technical matrix is an interesting tool for analyzing the process of data sharing between actors in the system dependent on their social relations. With the help of such a socio-technical tool and using equine veterinary medicine as an example, the social system of veterinarians and owners as actors is explored in terms of barriers and enablers of an effective digital representation of the global equine population.