Digital Saturation and Health System Collapse: Toward Resilient Design of Information Systems in Complex Care Environments

Abstract

Digital and information systems have become integral to healthcare delivery, enhancing efficiency, coordination, and access to services. However, increasing reliance on these systems may also introduce new forms of systemic vulnerability. This study examines how digital systems contribute to service disruption and explores the concept of digital saturation through the lens of the Stability–Efficiency–Adaptability (SEA) model.

A qualitative design was employed, combining a structured review of disruption factors with semi-structured interviews conducted with 13 participants across clinical, technical, and managerial domains. The analysis was guided by key disruption factors, including technical failures, cybersecurity threats, infrastructure dependency, workflow over-integration, loss of reversibility, and AI-related limitations.

The findings reveal that healthcare systems are increasingly optimized for efficiency, often at the expense of stability and adaptability. High levels of digital dependency, combined with limited manual fallback capacity, make systems highly sensitive to disruption. Failures such as downtime, connectivity issues, and cyber incidents were found to rapidly affect service continuity and, in some cases, propagate across interconnected systems.

Interpreted through the SEA model, these findings suggest that efficiency-driven digital transformation may lead to reduced adaptability and increased fragility, resulting in a condition of digital saturation. The study highlights the need for resilience-oriented design approaches that restore balance among stability, efficiency, and adaptability to ensure reliable healthcare delivery.