According to a policy unveiled today by the Australian Digital Health Agency, Australia’s health workforce would receive improved training in digital capabilities.
Together with the Australasian Institute of Digital Health, the National Digital Health Capability Action Plan was created.
According to ADHA CEO Amanda Cattermole, “Concerted action is necessary across the health sector to enhance the capabilities of the workforce so that the benefits of digital health are realised for more patients in more settings.”
“Consultation with employers in the public and private sectors, as well as professional institutions, universities, and educators, is necessary for the formulation and planning of workforce strategies.
“Effort coordination is also essential, and the AIDH is well positioned to take on this role thanks to its strong existing knowledge, partnerships, and independence in this field.”
According to the action plan, having better digital capabilities will enhance out-of-hospital care, minimise clinical risk, improve workflows, patient flows, and information exchange, as well as make healthcare more efficient and transparent.
While education and regulation will be established over a three-year period, the skills framework is anticipated to be finished in two years.
The fragmentation of systems is cited in the document as a major obstacle to the development of digital skills in healthcare, even though it is not particularly addressed in the strategy.
It reads, “Learning and applying digital skills for health personnel is more difficult due to a lack of interoperability between systems and a general lack of consistency or user-friendliness.”
