Abstract
As hospitals and clinics have transitioned to using digital systems for patient management and care, digital literacy has also become an essential skill for healthcare professionals.
Competent and effective use of these technologies is also paramount to maintain accurate electronic health records and secure communications, to assist clinicians with clinical decision-making, and because patients’ expectations about technology use in the healthcare environment are shifting.
Digital technologies, including electronic health records (EHRs), telemedicine, and patient portals, are now foundational to health services. Professionals must be educated to competently engage with these technologies, protect personal information, and support patients in accessing valid information.
This paper discusses the implications of this aspect of digital competence of health care personnel on safe and effective use of health information systems.
In examining workforce readiness from human, systemic, and policy perspectives, this paper advocates for ongoing institutional support, inclusive training, and leadership to ensure that digital transformation improves rather than detracts from patient-centred care.
Introduction
Health care today represents a convergence of technology and care. Health informatics has transformed the processes of how care is delivered and recorded, as well as how communication flows across teams.
Digital technology permeates nearly every step of the patient journey, from automated appointment booking to AI-based diagnostics. But they are useful only if the right people use them and know how to use them. If not, care will not be as good, safe, or efficient.
Digital literacy isn’t just about knowing how to use a computer. It’s about understanding how digital systems work, knowing how to use them well in clinical settings, and being able to adapt comfortably as technology changes. As more health services move online, it’s important to prepare the entire workforce.
Every healthcare worker—whether a clinician, receptionist, experienced veteran, or newcomer—needs support that respects their well-being and the quality of care they provide, without adding unnecessary pressure.
Technology in healthcare should always be a shared effort, keeping in mind both the mental and emotional demands placed on staff at all levels.
Digital Literacy as a Determinant of Quality Care
Digital literacy has a complex influence on the quality of care. Digital tool proficiency supports accurate documentation, effective communication, information retrieval, and access to evidence-based resources at the point of care.
Such skills can provide faster intervention, fewer administrative errors, and a more cooperative culture for interdepartmental collaboration. They lessen the likelihood of documentation being missed, miscommunication, and broken workflow.
Digital literacy enables patient empowerment as well. Clinicians who are comfortable with these portals and telehealth tools also find it easier to involve their patients in their care by guiding them into using online schedules, medication adherence tools, and lab results online portals.
That level of engagement also builds trust and is ultimately good for health outcomes. Conversely, failing to be digitally savvy enhances the divide between providers and patients in a time when patients expect tech-supported, quick service.
Digitally literate professionals are also instrumental in the public health response. Digital literacy allows for this type of coordinated action, whether it be for tracking infection outbreaks or vaccinations, or for emergency response systems.
Technology is no longer an add-on; as we saw with the COVID-19 pandemic, technology has become the backbone of healthcare itself.
Psychosocial Implications of Digital Readiness
The move toward digital systems has psychological effects. Many clinicians express being flooded by the rapid speed of technological change and learning new platforms while carrying a full load of patients.
That feeling that one is always adapting, without proper training to adapt or reassurance, can cause stress, burnout, and disengagement from the profession.
Some people worry that these teams make them seem incompetent or out of touch—especially in groups that mix different generations. This fear can lead them to stay quiet instead of asking for help, creating a hidden culture where mistakes go unspoken rather than addressed.
The emotional impact of this is often overlooked when new systems are rolled out. Institutions need to remember that technology changes affect people too—bringing challenges to confidence, identity, and team morale.
What is needed is a culture of psychological safety, where questions are encouraged, learning is fostered, and mistakes are part of growth. Emotional intelligence is a main principle that should underpin leadership involvement and the design of training itself.
Barriers to Workforce Readiness
There are some challenges limiting the formation of a digitally competent health workforce. Lack of time is one of the biggest. Clinicians and support staff function in very time-pressured environments with minimal opportunity for self-paced learning or training.
When programs are offered, participation may be limited due to conflicts, such as scheduling conflicts or the absence of backfill staff.
A second barrier is the assumption that being a digital native translates into an innate set of skills necessary for clinical informatics.
Even if younger employees may not be intimidated by smart devices or social media, health informatics involves knowledge on confidential information handling, legal requirements such as Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), but also organizational processes that are not necessarily the same as normal life technology.
The language and accessibility also matter. Some training is also too technical, too much in medical language, or simply not packaged in a way that works for the actual day-to-day workings of health care.
This can lead to frustration and disengagement, even from highly motivated learners. Addressing this need would involve developing materials with the recognition that users are not homogeneous and have different literacy levels, learning styles, and workplaces they work in.
Strategies for Building Digital Competence
Building digital competence is a process that takes time and effort. A practical solution would be to incorporate digital literacy in official health training. Digital systems and informatics should be integrated early and strengthened throughout their education, just as anatomy or pharmacology is integrated and emphasized for future healthcare professionals.
Health care institutions might consider establishing “digital mentorship” positions – individuals who are comfortable with technology, and who work with, and therefore are well positioned to offer on-the-spot training to their colleagues. They can extend their roles as mentors to help demystify systems and normalize seeking assistance.
The training process should also be iterative. Rather than being one-off sessions, ongoing modules are designed to adapt to updates in the system and to information coming from clinicians as to what may continue to be relevant.
For example, microlearning, simulations, and scenario-based learning have all demonstrated benefits in terms of retention and application. Reinforced by clinical motivations and provided with time, acknowledgment, and/or certification, learning needs to be geared for maximum impact. Technology vendors are also complicit.
User co-design of systems and integrated deployment-onboarding processes are essential. Usability testing with actual users verifies that tools are in line with clinicians’ cognitive workflows and priorities.
Policy and Leadership Imperatives
Organizational leadership influences the tone of digital preparedness. Investments in technology must also mean investments in people; this has to be supported by senior administrators. Leadership behaviors like engaging in training, asking for staff input, and demonstrating openness are critical signals about institutional focus.
Health authorities at the national and international level should establish standard benchmarks for digital literacy. By articulating and defining core competencies within workers, they can begin to chart a common path to readiness by credentialing training programs and providing grants or other financial means for workers to upgrade their skills.
Equity should also be reflected in policies. Rural clinics may have less access to training resources than urban teaching hospitals. There is no equitable access to telehealth across the regions.
Funding and support need to be made available in such a way that no part of the healthcare workforce is disadvantaged because of where they are, what role they play, or what resources they can mobilize.
Digital inclusion is not about the infrastructure; it is a matter of justice. Digitally empowering the whole workforce makes for a more efficient and equitable system.
Conclusion
Digital literacy, then, is foundational, not an added benefit, and is necessary for the ongoing digitalization of healthcare. It is essential to provide timely, safe, and person-centered care.
Having a workforce that is comfortable with and trusts the systems at their disposal means they will be ready to react when required to meet patient needs, public health emergencies, and inevitably even changes in the system.
Ultimately, the outcome of health informatics will be determined by the “up-header” capacity of the people who use it, not by engineers and algorithms. Health care organizations should not assume competence, but start investing in competencies. It necessitates empathetic leadership, relevant training, and visionary policy.
Digital literacy is not a checklist, but is a “living practice” that entwines technology with the heartbeat of care. In this light, if done carefully, it is not only a technical tool but also a validation of the most profound aspects of healthcare, which are to be competent and compassionate and to do no harm.
References
Maria del Pilar Arias López, Bradley A. Ong, Xavier Borrat Frigola, Ariel L. Fernández, Rachel S. Hicklent, Arianne J. T. Obeles, Aubrey M. Rocimo, Leo A. Celi Digital literacy as a new determinant of health: A scoping review. PLOS Digital Health, 2(10), e0000279.
https://journals.plos.org/digitalhealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pdig.0000279
Bansal, N., Kukreti, S., & Aggarwal, S. (2022). Impact of digital literacy levels of health care professionals on patient care and safety during COVID-19. JMIR Proceedings, 8(1), e41561.
https://www.iproc.org/2022/1/e41561/
Digital Literacy Among Health Professionals
Abate, S. M., Bayih, W. A., & Bayou, T. (2023). Digital literacy level and associated factors among health professionals in Northwest Ethiopia: An institutional-based cross-sectional study. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, 1130894. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1130894/full
Digital Skills Gap in Healthcare Sector (Europe-focused policy report)
European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. (2025). Closing the digital skills gap in health care: Identifying core digital skills and competencies and education and training opportunities for health professionals in the European [PDF]. World Health Organization. https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/docs/librariesprovider3/publicationsnew/policybrief-bewell-digital-v3-30042025.pdf
Association of Digital Health Literacy and Information-Seeking Behavior
Tilahun, B. A., Mekonnen, B., Kebede, S., & Hunde, A. W. (2023). Association of digital health literacy and information-seeking behavior among physicians during COVID-19 in Ethiopia. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, 10259119. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10259119/
