A longitudinal qualitative evaluation of the rollout of a complex digital intervention across healthcare organisations and the significance of implementation pace
4 affiliations
- 1School of Dentistry, University of Leeds
- 2School of Primary Care and Health Services Research, University of Manchester
- 3School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Manchester
- 4The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute, University of Cambridge
Abstract
Background The Safe Medication Dashboard (known as SMASH), an intervention to reduce hazardous prescribing in general practice through a pharmacist-led intervention and web-based dashboard, was piloted in 2017. A rollout of SMASH by the regional health innovation network was funded in 2019. Methods A longitudinal qualitative evaluation of the regional implementation effort was conducted over three years, including in-depth semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholders (n = 18), non-participant observations (n = 42), and documentary analysis. Results Assumptions about the replicability and complexity of the intervention led to an implementation strategy and pace that were misaligned. The implementation of SMASH suffered from delays, diversions, and disruptions due to unanticipated infrastructure needs, regulatory changes in data sharing, and the health systems’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion The findings will be discussed alongside relevant implementation frameworks to highlight how interdependencies between wider policies, organisations, and technologies can significantly shape the trajectories and pace of implementation efforts.
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BibTeX
@article{laverty2026longitudinal,
title = {{A longitudinal qualitative evaluation of the rollout of a complex digital intervention across healthcare organisations and the significance of implementation pace}},
author = {Louise Laverty and Paul Wilson and Darren Ashcroft and Niels Peek},
journal = {BMC Health Services Research},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12913-026-15183-w},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-026-15183-w},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A longitudinal qualitative evaluation of the rollout of a complex digital intervention across healthcare organisations and the significance of implementation pace
AU - Louise Laverty
AU - Paul Wilson
AU - Darren Ashcroft
AU - Niels Peek
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - BMC Health Services Research
DO - 10.1186/s12913-026-15183-w
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-026-15183-w
AB - Background The Safe Medication Dashboard (known as SMASH), an intervention to reduce hazardous prescribing in general practice through a pharmacist-led intervention and web-based dashboard, was piloted in 2017. A rollout of SMASH by the regional health innovation network was funded in 2019. Methods A longitudinal qualitative evaluation of the regional implementation effort was conducted over three years, including in-depth semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholders (n = 18), non-participant observations (n = 42), and documentary analysis. Results Assumptions about the replicability and complexity of the intervention led to an implementation strategy and pace that were misaligned. The implementation of SMASH suffered from delays, diversions, and disruptions due to unanticipated infrastructure needs, regulatory changes in data sharing, and the health systems’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion The findings will be discussed alongside relevant implementation frameworks to highlight how interdependencies between wider policies, organisations, and technologies can significantly shape the trajectories and pace of implementation efforts.
SN - 1472-6963
ER -