Digital Competencies for Health Service Managers: Educating for Transformation

Area of Science:

• Health Services Management
• Digital Health
• Adult Learning Theory

Background:

• 21st-century healthcare faces challenges: aging populations, chronic diseases, and workforce shortages.
• Traditional adult learning methods are insufficient for developing digital capabilities in health service managers.
• The need for enhanced digital competencies is critical for effective healthcare management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a five-step andragogical approach for developing health service management competencies in the digital context.
• To identify essential digital age capabilities for health service managers.
• To guide digital transformation in the Australian healthcare environment.

Main Methods:

• Qualifying required digital age capabilities through empirical research.
• Linking digital health teaching approaches with adult learning principles.
• Coalescing competencies for the 5th Industrial Revolution's knowledge and skills development.

Main Results:

• A structured, five-step process for andragogical development of digital health management competencies.
• Identification of key competencies for health service managers in the digital era.
• Emphasis on competency transferability in formal and informal education.

Conclusions:

• A new andragogical framework is essential for equipping health service managers for digital healthcare.
• Focus on transferable competencies and understanding industry challenges is crucial for educators.
• The digital health community must foster workforce development for sustainable healthcare system change.