A global panel of medical education and digital health research experts has developed a first-of-its-kind list of digital health competencies that it recommends be incorporated into medical education curricula around the world.
Rifat Atun, professor of global health systems at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, was a member of the core group that oversaw the development of the Digital Health Competencies in Medical Education (DECODE) framework. He recruited the expert panel, surveyed them on priorities in teaching digital health, and compiled the recommended competencies.
The framework, published Jan. 31 in JAMA Open Network, outlines competencies in four categories: professionalism in digital health, patient and population digital health, health information systems, and health data science. They address topics including the ethical, legal, and regulatory standards of handling health information; telehealth, health apps, and the digital determinants of health; electronic health records; artificial intelligence in health care; and precision medicine.
“Rapid digitalization of health care and a dearth of digital health education for medical students and junior physicians worldwide means there is an imperative for more training in this dynamic and evolving field,” Atun and his co-authors wrote. “This evidence-informed and consensus-guided framework will play an important role in enabling medical institutions to better prepare future physicians for the ongoing digital transformation in health care.”
Read the full DECODE statement: The Digital Health Competencies in Medical Education Framework: An International Consensus Statement Based on a Delphi Study
