Developing a Workforce Who Thrive in a Technology Rich Environment

The lives of healthcare providers, patients, caregivers, and populations are all intertwined with information technology used, the data collected, and the information formed. This is true in our personal lives as well as our interactions with medical and healthcare. Unfortunately, the full use of health information technology (HIT) with the possibilities of information and knowledge to truly enhance quality, safety, and efficiency has not been realized due to poor workforce health information technology competency and capability and health information literacy. Every level of healthcare service to provide the maximum benefit to the patients, consumers, and populations served with the technologies and informatics processes available, a digitally literate workforce is necessary. Scoping reviews conducted have synthesized domains of competency weakness among the workforce. The domains requiring competency development include: optimized EHR/HIT use, patient centered applications, clinical care, medication management, telecommunications and data exchange, digital health literacy, remote care and monitoring, data analysis, ethics, legal, regulatory impacts, privacy and security, big data, artificial intelligence, real time data analytics. Often, healthcare providers are not getting this in their preparatory education. Therefore, what is the best practice for delivering this professional development to the current workforce? This conversation will open this dialogue.