Australian statewide virtual care competency-based education framework for the healthcare workforce: a Delphi study

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Digital Health
• Interprofessional Practice

Background:

• The increasing adoption of virtual care necessitates standardized interprofessional competencies.
• Effective collaboration in virtual care requires shared understanding and skills across health professions.
• Existing frameworks may not adequately address the unique demands of virtual healthcare delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish shared interprofessional competencies for the virtual care workforce.
• To promote education, communication, and teamwork in virtual care settings.
• To improve health outcomes through collaborative virtual care.

Main Methods:

• A modified two-round Delphi process was employed.
• An interprofessional panel from the Australian public health sector participated.
• Expert consensus was reached on competencies across seven domains.

Main Results:

• Fifty-eight interprofessional competencies were established across seven domains.
• Domains include compliance, professional practice, patient safety, communication, interprofessional collaboration, and patient assessment/care planning/delivery/coordination.
• The developed framework supports an interprofessional approach to virtual care.

Conclusions:

• The established competencies provide a foundation for virtual care education and professional development.
• This framework can guide the revision or development of undergraduate and postgraduate programs.
• Focusing on interprofessional collaboration is key to optimizing virtual care.
• The framework was developed using broad health professional expertise.