Competency frameworks and standards for digital health: a landscape analysis (WHO, 24 June 2026)

Summary

This World Health Organization (WHO) report analyses the landscape of digital health competency frameworks and standards developed to strengthen health workforce education and practice in increasingly digitalised health systems. It examines how digital health competencies are defined, structured and applied across different professional, educational and organizational contexts, with a focus on supporting the effective use of digital technologies in health service delivery and learning.

The report is situated within the broader context of accelerating digital transformation in health, including increased demand for telemedicine, remote learning and digital tools following the COVID-19 pandemic and other global disruptions. Based on a narrative review of the literature, the report identifies and maps competency domains across existing frameworks, highlighting common competency clusters related to patient care, data, informatics, communication, technical proficiency, digital professionalism and administration. It discusses methodological approaches used in framework development, key implementation challenges and factors influencing adaptation and sustainability. The publication also outlines policy considerations to support the development, contextualization and use of digital health competency standards by policy-makers, educators and health institutions to strengthen digital competencies within the health workforce.