F Toward Triadic Delegation: How Agentic IS Artifacts Affect the Patient-Doctor Relationship in Healthcare

The emergence of agentic information systems (IS) in healthcare marks a shift in the patient-doctor relationship. As agentic IS artifacts are increasingly exhibiting autonomous behavior with expanding decision-making latitude, the traditional dyadic patient-doctor relationship transitions into a triad of patient, agentic IS, and doctor. Agentic IS artifacts no longer merely perform tasks on humans’ behalf but now actively delegate. Leveraging an in-depth case study on an agentic health companion designed for neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction management, we investigate how agentic IS artifacts alter the patient-doctor relationship. Drawing on phenomenon-based theorizing, we synthesize our observations through the lens of delegation and expand existing delegation theory in terms of triadic perspectives. Our findings reveal relevant changes in agent attributes and agentic interactions as well as the emergence of conflicts. Based on our theoretical advancements, we derive a framework of triadic delegation. Our research contributes to both theory and practice by providing meaningful theoretical insights into the triadic delegations of humans with increasingly autonomous agentic IS artifacts.