Digital Health: the future of Global Healthcare

Data-driven care 

Data-driven health systems can now increasingly support clinicians select care plans and treatments that not only follow best practice guidelines but also reflect people’s personal and specific health risk factors and behaviours. 

Healthcare providers will benefit from improved access to health and care data which can provide relevant, meaningful and actionable insights at the point of care. This also helps providers improve planning, resource allocation and workforce management by enabling organisations to become fully fledged ‘Learning Health Systems’. This means that these care systems ‘know what they do, can learn from their activities and know how to improve’ in a continuous care quality improvement cycle. 

Increased use of decision support systems and AI

Computerised clinical decision support systems are digital technologies that provide clinicians with tailored and relevant condition-specific knowledge and person-specific information to enhance care decision-making.   

Increasingly driven by powerful AI technologies, decision support can help clinicians assess the risks of specific procedures on patients. This includes the risks of complications or adverse events, or even logistic events, such as predicting a probable length of hospital stay.

Telehealth and virtual care

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare providers and clinicians have made greater use of telehealth to allow patients to access healthcare services remotely and manage health. 

Telemedicine and “Hospital at Home” (also known as ‘Virtual Wards’) are services providing care at home to patients who would have traditionally received care in a hospital setting. In this service model, remote care technologies are usually combined with home visits by healthcare professionals. This enables patients to remain at home, which can lead to quicker recovery.

More people using wearable technologies and apps

People are now using digital tools such as body worn devices and apps to take charge of their own wellbeing and fitness. These devices can provide early warning signs of health or wellbeing problems. 

There’s also been increased use of remote monitoring devices for long-term conditions such as diabetes or respiratory conditions. This can allow patients to live more independently.

Upskilling the workforce

There is a consensus among policymakers and healthcare professionals that we need a workforce skilled in the design, development and evaluation of digital systems. Digital leaders are required to drive, deliver and embed digital transformation across health and care services.

In the UK, Professor Eric Topol in his 2019 report recommended the development and commission of courses to increase the competency of the NHS workforce in digital technologies. Digital health technologies can significantly reduce geographic and economic barriers and services’ bottlenecks, ultimately leading to better health outcomes. 

There is a substantial and unmet need for professionals and experts who understand how to design digital technology interventions and can lead health and care digital transformation.

Some of the top digital health skills and knowledge in demand in 2026 are:

• Digital Transformation
• Business Intelligence
• Data Analytics and Health Informatics
• AI and Clinical Informatics
• User-Centred Design and Product Management
• Digital Clinical Safety
• Digital Care Quality

The University of Stirling’s Masters in Digital Health and Care helps you develop these skills and insight. Graduates may progress into senior management and leaderships roles shaping technology-enabled health and care systems worldwide.