Paper short abstract:

This presentation explores how future visions shape present actions, advocating for an anticipatory anthropology. Analyzing the digital health implementation in Portugal, it highlights stakeholders' concerns about the utilization, reconfiguration, and evolution of healthcare through digitization.

Paper long abstract:

This presentation seeks to present an understanding of how visions of the future influence present actions, exploring the impact of imagined future sociotechnical systems on contemporary social practices. Based on Reinhart Koselleck's philosophy of historical time and focusing on the heuristic value of the interaction between experience and expectation, it argues in favor of adopting an anticipatory approach in anthropology as a means to conduct a critical analysis of social practices.

By examining the process of implementing digital health in Portugal through an analysis of the discourse uttered by various stakeholders involved, the presentation provides a comprehensive view of the potential impacts of digitization on sociotechnical systems in the healthcare domain. The results will highlight the primary concerns of the different stakeholders, encompassing the various aspects related to the utilization, reconfiguration, and evolution of healthcare.