Digital health to drive workforce reform

The Australasian Institute of Digital Health (AIDH) has launched a workforce-focused strategic plan, calling on its 2000+ members —including global and national leaders in digital health — to act as a voice for the future of the health system and drive reform in the health workforce.

“The institute will be strongly advocating to maintain the momentum in digital delivery achieved in the COVID response,” AIDH CEO Dr Louise Schaper said. “There is an opportunity to make generational changes in health care if we empower the health workforce today.”

Dr Schaper said there had been leaps forward during the pandemic, with the greatest advances in telehealth and virtual care — the institute wants to see this progress embedded.

“Rolling back on telehealth, which leapt to public attention during the pandemic, is a mistake and there is a risk public confidence and momentum in digital health delivery will be lost,” she said.

“The institute has members spread across the health system and interest in digital health delivery is growing, especially from the consumer. We need to listen to the patients in the health system who want the same seamless access to their information they experience in every other aspect of their life.”

The institute is working with health professions on workforce advancement through accreditation and training, with programs that cover the basics of digital health to more advanced workforce-based programs to build capability across the health sector.

“Nursing and midwifery workforce have started to upskill by assessing capability in public and private sectors and fixing a starting point to build programs for education and training,” Dr Schaper said. “It’s time to take this to all of the health professions on a larger scale. We are already accrediting individual professionals in digital health, and other moves include educating senior board members and executives on what they need to know in their own businesses.

“The institute’s new strategy embeds collaboration and cross-partnerships to take digital health out to every healthcare professional, whatever level of knowledge they have as a starting point.”

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