Development of digital competencies of medical staff in the context of the overall digitalization of the Russian healthcare

Abstract

The relevance of the study is due to the fact that the Russian healthcare in terms of the pace and quality of digitalization lags behind the healthcare systems of other developed and developing countries. The low level of digital literacy of medical staff does not allow them to develop the proper level of competencies for working with high-tech equipment, software applications and various telemedicine services. This, in turn, reduces both the quality and efficiency of medical care for the population. The purpose of the article is to develop a profile of digital competence of medical staff. The methodology of the article is based on the use of methods of statistical analysis of public data and sociological research. The sample of the sociological study was formed from medical staff in the regions of Moscow, Tula, Bryansk and Sverdlovsk. The pace and level of digitalization of the Russian healthcare is several orders of magnitude lower than the healthcare systems of the United States, South Korea, Japan and some other OECD countries. The development of digital competencies and a high level of digital literacy are observed among those medical workers who, firstly, operate in high-tech medical organizations, and, secondly, among those medical workers whose organizations are located close to regional economic centers. Russian healthcare needs additional investments, which can be directed both to digitalization and to the development of digital literacy of medical staff. To assess digital literacy, a special digital competence profile of middle and senior medical personnel was developed.