92490 Introduction to Digital Health
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particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
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Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Description
Most industrialised countries have been striving for major health reform in the last two decades, with the introduction of technology into the health environment being considered as a means to deliver safer clinical care, improve the patient journey, achieve better health outcomes, and result in significant savings from efficiency gains. Australia's health sector has commenced on a path towards an electronic networked system across all settings. While the Australian general practice environment has computerised rapidly, the introduction of health information technology into the hospital setting has been slower due to complexity, scale, funding and boundary restrictions. This subject exposes students to the mosaic of digital health uptake within Australia, including strategic planning from a national, state and local level. Current and future deployment options for both general practice and hospital facilities, and the models of care that interact with technology capabilities of digital health are considered. Finally, the digital maturity of the health ecosystem is explored, as well as how digital transformation improves connectivity and flow of patient information.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| A. | Categorise and analyse the drivers behind digital health in the current health environment [Analy] |
|---|---|
| B. | Discriminate between the concepts of eHealth, telehealth and mHealth [Analy] |
| C. | Examine applications of digital health from a clinical, education and research perspective [Analy] |
| D. | Analyse the transformational nature of digital health within the healthcare environment [Analy] |
| E. | Discuss the involvement of government and professional organisations in assisting to improve patient safety and support quality initiatives using digital health initiatives [Synth] |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes specifically to the following graduate attributes:
- Evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of health projects and programs (2.1)
- Develop creative and innovative responses to health issues (2.2)
- Demonstrate adaptability to social, political and technological change in public health (2.3)
- Facilitate meaningful collaboration between stakeholders to develop effective public health strategies (3.2)
- Demonstrates critical thinking in the development and practice of public health (5.1)
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
This subject also contributes specifically to the following graduate attributes:
2. Adaptability: Demonstrate creative and adaptive thinking within a changeable social, political and technological environment
- 2.1 Demonstrate adaptable and novel thinking within changing environments to maximise outcomes for a range of individuals, communities and stakeholders
- 2.2 Utilise enquiry based learning to develop innovative approaches to complex issues
- 2. 3 Manage and adapt to the environment to maximise integration of care and outcomes for a range of individuals, communities and stakeholders
3. Communication, collaboration and leadership: Use an assets -based approach to engender effective communication, collaboration and leadership
- 3.2 Consider and develop the health literacy of varied population groups and articulate the impact this has on effective communication and health care delivery
5. Critical thinking and practice: Translate research and evaluation into social and professional practice through critical thinking and knowledge integration
- 5.1 Identify appropriate information resources and apply effective and creative solutions for the improvement of individuals and communities
Teaching and learning strategies
This subject is designed to assist students understand the breadth of digital transformation occurring in the Australian healthcare system, as well as how this technology influences patient safety and quality initiatives. It is anticipated that the knowledge and skills gained in this subject will allow the graduate to interact with digital health technology correctly and appreciate the concepts that underpin their construction.
Pre-lecture and Pre-tutorial learning
Students access online learning resources such as podcasts, videos and literature prior to attending face-to-face on-campus lectures and tutorials to improve their confidence in approaching the proposed content, afford them time to construct questions, and facilitate discussion in class, resulting in shared learning, experiences and reflections. The specific activities will be detailed in this subject outline and all resources will be located on UTSOnline.
Blend of online and face-to-face strategies
This subject benefits from both the real time delivery of content and access to resources via UTSOnline, including podcasts, videos and learning resources. Students attend a weekly 1-hour lecture and 2-hour tutorial. The weekly on-campus attendance provides a variety of models and theories for each content area, followed by class discussion on which models are best suited to likely situations in the health service environment. A number of industry representatives provide their experience in using digital health technologies for a variety of healthcare consumers, and reiterate lessons learnt in building a connected digital health environment.
Case based scenarios and collaboration
Contemporary Australian and international cases are used to help students explore the approaches to digital health. Real cases depict situations related to the digitisation of the healthcare environment, the expanding variety of digital technologies available to the consumer, the changing approach to consumers actively participating in their own healthcare journeys, as well as the response of healthcare clinicians to this new paradigm. Students will collaborate and use these scenarios to learn concepts and interpret existing processes and procedures related to digital health within the healthcare environment. Self, peer and teacher feedback is provided during the tutorials to develop students’ judgement.
Assessment range
Students will be exposed to a variety of assessment modes, including quizzes, a debate, and a presentation. Feedback will be provided on assessments to ensure students can identify areas for development and areas of sufficient expertise. Students are encouraged to use contemporary educational technology.
Early low-stakes feedback will be provided via two methods:
- during tutorial sessions, where students discuss material raised in the lecture, and ask questions of their peers and lecturing staff;
- results for the first two (2) quizzes (Assessment Item 1) will be received prior to the census date.
Continual feedback will be provided via four methods:
- peer communication, individual and lecturing staff contributions to the tutorial discussions, where a range of topics are controversial and will lead to debate;
- progressive assessment tasks, worth 30%, 40% and 30%.
Content (topics)
- Digital Health
- Patient Administration Systems
- Primary Health Care Digital Initiatives
- Community Health Digital Initiatives
- Hospital Setting Digitisation
- Emerging Technologies in Digital Health
- Education and Research in Digital Health
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Multiple Choice Quizzes
| Intent: | These quizzes are designed to assess students understanding of the content delivered in the lectures and tutorials. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): A, B, C and D This assessment task contributes to the development of graduate attribute(s): 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.2 and 5.1 |
| Type: | Quiz/test |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 30% |
| Length: | 5 online quizzes throughout the session – each of no more than 15 minutes’ duration. |
| Criteria: |
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Assessment task 2: International Perspectives on Digital Health
| Intent: | This assessment requires students to consider the efforts, issues, and challenges inherent in countries deploying digital innovation. It reinforces that while digitisation is desirable in all countries, it is often complex, lengthy and labour-intensive to deploy. The assessment fosters student understanding of how each country prioritises what it believes to be the most important initiative in the digital journey, and how it selects appropriate funding models to achieve this goal. |
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| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): E This assessment task contributes to the development of graduate attribute(s): 3.2 and 5.1 |
| Type: | Presentation |
| Groupwork: | Group, group assessed |
| Weight: | 30% |
| Length: | A 12-minute presentation (10 minutes of content, 2 minutes for questions). |
| Criteria: |
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Assessment task 3: Debate addressing digital health challenges
| Intent: | This assessment is designed to provide the students with an opportunity to convince those working in the health industry of the advantages and disadvantages of digital initiatives currently being deployed. There are several challenges inherent in digitising the health sector, and students need to be able to understand all points of view. By participating in a debate, students will be able to succinctly support either the affirmative or negative view, and will be cognisant of the need to listen to all viewpoints prior to deploying a digital application into the clinical workflow. |
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| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): B, C and D This assessment task contributes to the development of graduate attribute(s): 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.2 and 5.1 |
| Type: | Case study |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 40% |
| Length: | A 36-minute debate, comprising 6 students (3 students in each team). Each student will present for 5 minutes, in addition, each team captain will make an additional 3-minute rebuttal at the end of the team presentations. |
| Criteria: |
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Recommended texts
Thre is no prescribed text for this subject. Links to references and electronic resources will be made available on UTSOnline.
References
Links to references and additional resources are provided on UTSOnline.
Other resources
UTS Student Centre
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For other resources/information refer to the Faculty of Health website (www.uts.edu.au/about/faculty-health), the Health Student Guide (www.uts.edu.au/sites/default/files/uts-health-student-guide.pdf) and UTSOnline at: https://online.uts.edu.au/webapps/login/
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Improve your academic and English language skills
Marks for all assessment tasks such as assignments and examinations are given not only for what you write but also for how you write. If you would like the opportunity to improve your academic and English language skills, make an appointment with the HELPS (Higher Education Language & Presentation Support) Service in Student Services.
HELPS (Higher Education Language & Presentation Support)
HELPS provides assistance with English language proficiency and academic language. Students who need to develop their written and/or spoken English should make use of the free services offered by HELPS, including academic language workshops, vacation intensive courses, drop-in consultations, individual appointments and Conversations@UTS (www.ssu.uts.edu.au/helps). HELPS staff are also available for drop-in consultations at the UTS Library. Phone (02) 9514 9733
Please see www.uts.edu.au for additional information on other resources provided to students by UTS.