Healthcare Workforce IT skills

Specific Challenge

Healthcare systems require a robust supply of both highly proficient eHealth/IT professionals as well as an overall workforce that has a sufficient level of IT skills to make the optimum use of eHealth information technology. There is a shortage in the EU of eHealth workers across the full spectrum of job roles, spanning clinical, social care, informatics, and administration. There is a dearth of structured education and training opportunities to address this shortage.

Scope

Proposals should focus on mapping, quantifying and projecting the need, supply and demand of workforce skills and competencies to develop IT skills and training programmes for the healthcare workforce taking into account the EU-US collaboration underway in this area under the EU-US MoU eHealth Roadmap and other international cooperation in this area. The work should identify how key factors and trends will be investigated, the different scenarios the system and eHealth workforce face, quantify and model these futures as well as describe how the most robust policies to deliver the desired impacts and outcomes will be investigated. They should also demonstrate knowledge of systematic workforce investigations including skills and competences existing curricula and training, identify gaps and propose solutions to bridge them. A series of case studies in some of the areas where IT already has an impact on the provision of health services, will support the proposed solutions in the most critical areas for example in primary health care, monitoring of chronic diseases, high risk patient care and geriatry. A familiarity with the ICT Skills’ European eCompetence Framework for healthcare is also important.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to EUR 0.5 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Expected Impact

• Mapping of the current knowledge structure, identification and quantification of the main trends and gaps, catalysts and barriers in IT skills and training needs of the healthcare workforce for optimum use of eHealth solutions;
• Improved access to training programmes, including continuous professional development, and upgrading of skills for all types of actors in healthcare workforces;
• Assessment of the effectiveness of training strategies and requirements for provision of programmes in different scenarios;
• Strengthened international collaboration in the area of healthcare professionals IT skills including contributions to the actions of the EU-US MoU eHealth Roadmap and better informed policy decisions.