Dr Ralph Edward Hibberd

Research Officer

Biography 

Dr Hibberd has worked in and around the domain of complex human-machine systems for the last decade. Recent work, first with UCL School of Pharmacy, and now with LSE has focused on the manner in which new medical informatics technologies can be exploited.

In his most recent major project for UCL School of Pharmacy, Dr Hibberd formed part of the team evaluating the potential for electronic transmission prescription use in English primary care, focussing on the experience of patients, and GP practice users of the service. More recent work with UCL School of Pharmacy and LSE has looked at the implications for patient experience of a reduction in the size of England’s community pharmacy network, and the potential effects of introducing health care informatics that facilitates the exchange of health care information amongst all stakeholders in England’s health and social care system.

Currently, Dr Hibberd is working on the UK Research Councils’ funded Delivering Digital Drugs project, led by Dr Tony Cornford. Dr Hibberd brings to this project both his previous experience within the domain of health informatics, as well as experience from a number of other complex system domains, including transport and chemical process plants. Holding a bachelors degree in psychology, a masters in ergonomics and a PhD for work examining the evaluation of computer-based training, Dr Hibberd brings a range of models to the study of systems.

Research Interests

• Distributed cognition and collaborative working
• Mechanisms and scope of organisational learning
• Risk perception and trust
• Safety in complex systems 

Publications

HEALTHCAREINFORMATICS 

• Cornford, T., Hibberd, R. and Barber, N. (2014) The Evaluation of the Electronic Prescription Service in Primary Care: Final Report on the Findings from the Evaluation in Early Implementer Sites.  University College London: London.
• Franklin, B.D., Reynolds, M., Sadler, S., Hibberd, R., Avery, A.J., Armstrong, S.J., Mehta, R., Boyd, M. and Barber, N. (2014) The effect of the electronic transmission of prescriptions on dispensing errors and prescription enhancements made in English community pharmacies: A naturalistic stepped wedge study. BMJ Quality and Safety, 23, 629-683.
• Harvey, J., Avery, A.J., Hibberd, R. and Barber, N. (2014) Meeting user needs in national healthcare systems: Lessons from early adopter community pharmacists using the electronic prescriptions service. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 14, 16.
• Franklin, B.D., Reynolds, M., Hibberd, R., Sadler, S. and Barber, N. (2013) Community pharmacists’ interventions with electronic prescriptions in England: An exploratory study. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, 35, 1030-1035.
• Garfield, S., Hibberd, R. and Barber, N. (2013) English community pharmacists’ experiences of using electronic transmission of prescriptions: A qualitative study. BMC Health Services Research, 13, 345.
• Lichtner, V., Venters, W., Hibberd, R., Cornford, T. and Barber, N. (2013) The fungibility of time in claims of efficiency: The case of making transmission of prescriptions electronic in English general practice. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 82, 1152-1170.
• Hibberd, R., Barber, N., Cornford, T. and Lichtner, V. (2012) The Evaluation of the Electronic Prescription Service in Primary Care: Interim Report on the Findings from the Evaluation in Early Implementer Sites.  University College London: London.
• Harvey, J., Avery, A., Waring, J., Hibberd, R. and Barber, N. (2011) A Constructivist approach? Using formative evaluation to inform the Electronic Prescription Service implementation in primary care in England. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 169, 374-378.
• Petrakaki, D., Cornford, T., Hibberd, R., Lichtner, V. and Barber, N. (2011) The Role of Technology in Shaping the Professional Future of Community Pharmacists: The Case of the Electronic Prescription Service in the English NHS. Presented at IFIP 8.2: International Federation of Information Processing Working Group on Information Systems and Organizations Researching the Future Working Conference, 6th. – 8th. June, Turku, Finland.
• Lichtner, V., Petrakaki, D., Hibberd, R. , Venters, W. , Cornford, A. and Barber, N. (2010) Mapping Stakeholders for System Evaluation - The case of the Electronic Prescription Service in England. Presented at MedInfo 2010: The 13th. International Congress on Medical and Health Informatics, 12th. – 15th. September, Cape Town. 
• Hibberd, R. and Lichtner, V. (2009) The Use of Participatory Workflow Modelling to Assess Repeat Prescribing Processes. Presented at Qualitative Research in the NHS – First Annual Meeting, 16th. October, Cambridge. 

RELIABILITY AND COMPLEX SYSTEMS

• Doytchev, D. and Hibberd, R. (2009) Organizational learning and safety in design: Experiences from German industry. Journal of Risk Research, 12, 295-312. 
• Doytchev, D. and Hibberd R. (2007) Organisational Learning in Industrial Companies – Experiences from Germany. Presented at ESREL 2007, Stavanger, Norway, 25th. – 27th. June. (2007).
• Busby, J.S. and Hibberd, R.  (2006) The coordinating role of organisational artefacts in distributed cognition – and how it fails in maritime operations. Le Travail Humain, 69, 25-47. 
• Busby, J.S., Hibberd, R., Mileham, A.R. and Mullineux, G. (2004) Failure modes analysis of organizational artefacts that protect systems. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture, 218, 1211-1216.
• Busby, J.S. and Hibberd, R. (2004) Artefacts, sensemaking and catastrophic faillure in railway systems. Presented at IEEE SMC 2004: International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, The Hague, The Netherlands, 10th. - 13th. October.
• Busby, J.S. and Hibberd, R. (2002) Mutual Misconceptions between designers and operators of complex systems. Research in Engineering Design, 13, 132-138. 
• Busby, J.S., Hibberd, R., Chung, P.W., Das, B.P. and Hughes, E.J. (2001) How Mutual Misconceptions between Designers and Operators cause Accidents in Hazardous Installations. Presented at the International Conference on Engineering Design, Glasgow, UK, 21st. - 23rd. August. 
• Chung, P.W., Das, B.P., Busby, J.S. and Hibberd, R. (2001) Reducing Accident Causation in Complex Plants. Presented at the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center Annual Symposium: Making Safety Second Nature, College Station, TX, 30th - 31st. October.
• Das, B.P., Chung, P.W., Busby, J.S. and Hibberd, R. (2001) Developing a Database to Alleviate the Presence of Mutual Misconceptions between Designers and Operators of Process Plants. Presented at Hazards XVI Symposium: Analysing the Past, Planning the Future, Manchester, UK, 6th. - 8th. November.