Digital skills in healthcare: key insights from experts

We convened a Panel of Experts on Digital Skills in the Healthcare Sector at the Centre for Biomedical Technologies, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. The event brought together doctors, nurses, technicians, managers, and policymakers to explore how emerging technologies are reshaping professional skills and to identify strategies for effective digital adoption.

Key themes from the panel:

• The urgent need for digital transformation: emerging technologies are transforming healthcare workflows. The panel emphasised the importance of Human-Tech Skill Complementarity, ensuring professionals can leverage new tools to improve patient outcomes and efficiency.

• Barriers to training and adoption: time constraints, limited or inflexible learning opportunities, high costs, and lack of integration into career pathways remain major obstacles.

• Collaborative and multidisciplinary approaches: success requires coordination across roles and institutions. Engagement from the Ministry of Health helped contextualise discussions within public policy frameworks. Networking and collaboration across disciplines are key to building an integrated digital healthcare system.

• Leadership, Best Practices, and Policy Development: sharing success stories highlighted how digital tools can enhance healthcare quality.

The expert panel confirmed that healthcare is at a pivotal point in digital transformation. By addressing training gaps, fostering collaboration, and supporting leadership, the sector can ensure professionals are prepared to thrive in a technologically advanced environment.

Discover how TechConnect is shaping the future of digital skills in healthcare and learn about practical strategies for adoption: https://horizontechconnect.eu/panel-of-experts-on-digital-skills-in-the-healthcare-sector/