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Where to for digital health? The Australian Council for Senior Academic Leaders in Digital Health action plan

Leanna Woods , Melanie Haines, Salma Arabi, James Boyd, Kerryn Butler-Henderson, Kathleen Gray, Russell Gruen, Stephen Guinea , Christine Bennett, Clair Sullivan

Abstract

Australia’s healthcare system faces major challenges related to sustainability, access, and equity. Safe, effective care and growing demands require evidence-based innovation and a future-ready health workforce. Digital health – the use of data and digital technology in health and health care – is yet to fully realise its promise. The Australian Council of Senior Academic Leaders in Digital Health (the ‘Council’) has been established to promote, foster and support academic collaboration that helps address Australia’s key challenges and contribute to national and global health. This perspective provides an action plan in a crowded digital health landscape to improve the highlighted issues of effective innovation and a capable workforce. The Council has two key actions to: Action 1: Support research and innovation that advances digital health principles and practices by advocating for digital health research and development funding, strategic partnerships, communication, standard-setting and adoption of research-informed digital health. Action 2: Enable system transformation through evidence-based education and training to produce future-fit healthcare workers by advancing health workforce education that embeds digital health capability standards and ongoing learning. True and transformative progress and continuous improvement in digital health require peer-reviewed evidence, as does any other area of healthcare. We need to acknowledge that our current workforce capabilities are no longer fit for purpose. Our workforce needs to be progressively ‘retooled’ to face the future of healthcare in a technological and data science revolution and in a sector that is slow to adapt to change. Implementing these actions will advance digital health research and education to positively impact Australia’s healthcare system.

AH25039  Accepted 10 April 2025

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