Digital health to drive workforce reform

SECTOR UPDATE - Australasian Institute of Digital Health (AIDH)

The Australasian Institute of Digital Health (AIDH) will activate the 2,000 strong membership base which includes global and national leaders in digital health to be a voice for the future of the health system.

“The Institute will be strongly advocating to maintain the momentum in digital delivery achieved in the
COVID response,” said AIDH CEO Dr Louise Schaper.

‘There is an opportunity to make generational changes in healthcare if we empower the health workforce today.”

The Institute today launched an extensively workforce-focused strategic plan.

Dr Schaper said there had been leaps forward during the pandemic, with the greatest advances in
telehealth and virtual care and the Institute wanted 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,” Dr Schaper 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,” she said.

She said the Institute was already working with many health professions on workforce advancement
through accreditation and training, with programs that start with 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,” she said.

“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,” she said.