Summary
Objectives:
The healthcare sector is facing an enormous acceleration due to the emergence of
new knowledge, drugs, devices and diseases. Professional competence, continuing education,
service excellence and patient benefits can be facilitated by the developments in
information and computer technology – computer literacy is becoming imperative for
all who are involved in healthcare delivery. The paper attempts to identify solutions
that can aid the process of ICT uptake for full benefit of patients and healthcare
professionals.
Methods:
With the support of published literature, the article considers the importance of
ICT skills in general and in healthcare and presents some advantages of generic vendor-independent
methods of ICT certification.
Results:
Discussed are the preliminary results of the United Kingdom’s National Health Service
information technology reform which addresses the need for intensified use of ICT
and applies the ECDL concept.
Conclusions:
It is useful to complement the introduction of computer literacy as a qualification
concept by a standardized accreditation of ICT skills. Solid level of computer literacy
creates a reliable and efficient background for everyday activities of healthcare
professionals, enables the application of further domain-specific training modules
and prepares suitable environments for the introduction and acceptance of new technologies
such as electronic health records and electronic transfer of prescriptions by positively
transforming the attitudes of users towards them.
Keywords
Computer literacy - professional competence - continuing education - delivery of health
care
