Training needs assessment for the design of health care digital transformation courses in EU

In a world aiming at Digital Health Transformation, skill-mix training is critical to healthcare professionals. These skills should include multidisciplinary teamwork, overcoming barriers in the workforce, contributing to the balance of the problem of digital health inequities in healthcare complex systems. A mix-method study, among 5 EU countries (Portugal, Latvia, Belgium, Norway, and Italy), was performed. Researchers and health-related workforce worked together in a comprehensive and participatory environment focusing on the healthcare digitalization training courses, following a Design Science approach. Digital, soft, and hard (technical) skills, for basic and advanced levels, were assessed to address practical and organizational needs. The outcome Digital Transformation Skills Matrix was defined to support decision-making on training programs and course syllabus design. A multidisciplinary teamwork process, counting on engineering and healthcare communities, working together at each step, is key for the successful digital health transformation process.