Workforce in focus at MedInfo Sydney 2023

MedInfo 2023, the 19th congress on medical and health informatics, will be held in Sydney from 8–12 July 2023.

Presented by the Australasian Institute of Digital Health (AIDH), an industry body for digital health representing a united and influential single voice for health informatics and digital health leaders and practitioners, on behalf of the International Medical Informatics, the conference will be held at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Sydney, Australia.

The conference, supported by the NSW Government and Business Events Sydney, will bring together thousands of digital health leaders and practitioners at the forefront of health care and is considered a landmark event on the global calendar.

Themed ‘the future is accessible’, the conference puts the focus on building a health sector where data is not locked in silos and where both clinicians and consumers can work together in true partnership towards the vision of the AIDH — ‘healthier lives, digitally enabled’.

Early bird registrations close 7 April 2023 and delegates can purchase one-, three- or five-day passes at medinfo2023.org.

Workforce on the agenda

One of the hot topics for the congress is the strategic imperative to digitally enable the health workforce. The challenges confronting the global healthcare workforce, and the link to our digital future, will be addressed by keynote speakers, workshops and presentations.

Australia’s health system faces an aging population, increasing consumer expectations and continuing pressures on Australia’s health workforce. In the face of these challenges, digital health is transforming the way that many patients manage their health and driving change in the delivery of health services.

The Australian Digital Health Agency and AIDH announced in late 2022 they would be working in partnership with key stakeholders from across the health ecosystem on the Capability Action Plan (CAP), designed to support Australia’s health workforce to continue to develop the skills they need to deliver the best care for Australians in an increasingly digital world.

The CAP sets out priority actions that are required across the workforce to respond to the needs of consumers, now and in the future. Under the CAP, the Agency and AIDH will work together over the next two years to support healthcare workers to deliver virtual and connected care to Australians by equipping them with the tools and capabilities that they need to operate as effectively as possible in this rapidly evolving environment.

AIDH CEO Dr Louise Schaper said the Institute’s primary focus for the last four years has been advancing the digital capability of the health workforce.

“The Institute, its Fellows and Members already work with many health professions on workforce advancement, through accreditation and training, with programs that start with the basics of digital health to more advanced workforce-based programs.

“The nursing and midwifery workforce has started to upskill by assessing capability in public and private sectors and creating a starting point to build programs for education and training. It’s time to take this to all health professions on a larger scale,” she said.

The CAP, which can be found at digitalhealth.gov.au/about-us/strategies-and-plans, is a two-year program of work that sets out the initiatives including working towards standard capability frameworks, guidelines, resources and tools identified through previous work, planning and ongoing sector consultation to equip Australia’s health workforce for a connected, digitally enabled future.

The AIDH is inviting healthcare professionals to become members of the peak body. Fellows and Members of the AIDH represent a diverse range of professions involved in delivering health and social care. This includes health informaticians, clinicians, researchers, healthcare managers and executives, data analysts, designers, project managers, business analysts, technologists and innovators.

As a leading member of the global health informatics and digital health community, the Institute is also the forum for sharing international best practice, digital healthcare trends and health system innovation.

Image credit: iStockphoto.com/kasto80