Dr. Shariq Khoja
Digital Health is a recognized field in healthcare which includes a variety of technology applications, such as telemedicine and telehealth, electronic health/medical records, health-related apps, wearables, remote monitoring devices, and the use of artificial intelligence in health. A large number of health providers, including young and established nurses and doctors, use these technologies on a regular basis. However, very few nursing and medical schools have formulated a curriculum for incorporating digital health in their formal programs. These institutions must update their curriculum to include digital health education so that future nurses and doctors can provide safe and equitable patient care.
A report on digital health use among health providers at the NHS facilities in the UK highlighted the need to incorporate more digital health competencies into their curricula for undergraduate studies. Even though 85% of students enrolled in British medical schools want more digital health training, there is no such curriculum defined in the country. There is also no consensus on how best to deliver digital health curricula globally. Other studies conducted with medical students in the US confirm that these students show a high degree of awareness for the impact of digital health on medical practice. Students have highly recommended teaching of digital knowledge and competencies to be firmly implemented into formal education to form digitally competent future health providers.
There is a critical need for nursing and medical schools to incorporate digital health competencies into their curricula to bridge this gap. Some of the key themes which should be covered as part of the digital health curriculum for nursing and medical schools, should include:
- Electronic Health/Medical Records (EHR/EMRs);
- Clinical Decision-making tools;
- Social media in Health;
- Telemedicine and Telehealth; and
- Artificial Intelligence in Health
Tech4Life Enterprises has played an important role in building capacity of health providers in digital health and possesses valuable experience on the needs of doctors and nurses on the use of digital health devices, applications, and telemedicine solutions all over the world. Tech4Life can play a strong role in the development of any global agenda for incorporating digital health into nursing and medical curricula.
References:
- Srinivasan S. Digital health must be better integrated into medical education. BMJ 2022;376:o363. https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o363
- OntarioMD. Digital Health Education for Medical Schools. https://www.ontariomd.ca/documents/resource%20library/dig.%20health%20education%20for%20med%20school.pdf
- Seeman RJ, Mielke AM et al. Implementation of a digital health module for undergraduate medical students: A comparative study on knowledge and attitudes. Technol Healthcare 2023; 31(1): 157–164.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9912741/