The Digital Skills training program for healthcare and social sector professionals kicks off

The emergence of new technological tools and the speed at which they are integrated into everyday work are transforming the relationship between professionals and citizens. The way we communicate, manage information, make decisions, and collaborate has changed, requiring new professional capabilities in the health and social sectors. In this context, the Digital Skills Training Program was created—an initiative aimed at strengthening the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to use digital technologies effectively, safely, critically, and responsibly in professional settings.

The Department of Health, through the Directorate General for Health Professionals and the TIC Salut i Social Foundation, promotes access to accredited Digital Skills training programs aimed at professionals and organizations within Catalonia’s public healthcare system (SISCAT). These programs are aligned with the digital skills framework developed within the European project “COMPDIG-SALUT – improving digital competences of the health workforce in Catalonia and Estonia.”

This continuing education initiative in digital skills and Artificial Intelligence (AI), a pioneer in Europe, will enable professionals across all groups working in Catalonia’s healthcare system to adapt to new digital and technological environments.

The program offers 1,200 subsidized places in a training proposal that includes 13 tutor-led online courses—11 linked to the digital competencies framework and 2 focused on artificial intelligence (AI). Course content has been developed in collaboration with the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), which participated in the European project, and Unió Consorci Formació (UCF), a joint initiative of La Unió Association of Health and Social Entities and the Health and Social Consortium of Catalonia. The goal is to provide practical, applied training aligned with new healthcare, organizational, and technological environments. Participants will receive a certificate of completion issued by UCF and accreditation from the Catalan Council for Continuing Education of Health Professions (CCFCF).

The 13 training courses

Digitalization has introduced new practices into the daily work of health and social services. Telemedicine, mobile applications, connected devices, data management, and clinical decision support systems are now part of an ecosystem that requires continuous updating of knowledge based on new competencies. The Digital Skills Training Program addresses this need through 13 different courses:

• Organization and data protection in the health and social sectors: responsibilities and best practices.
• Basic digital security measures in healthcare professional activity.
• Best practices for secure and confidential digital communication in the exchange of information between patients and teams.
• How to optimize technological resources to improve efficiency in patient care.
• Basic principles of digital identity management in clinical practice.
• Digital transformation as a strategic process for continuous improvement and quality of care.
• Digital communication strategies for effective interaction within the healthcare system.
• Communication, coordination, and conflict resolution in virtual healthcare collaboration environments.
• How to apply critical thinking in the use of tools, channels, and formats to generate digital health content and resources.
• Practical principles for direct application in health data management.
• Practical applications of data analysis to improve professional healthcare practice.
• Healthcare AI adoption.
• AI tecnhical guidelines for an ethic adoption in healthcare.

Registration for the first two courses is now open on the UCF website and will take place between May 12, 2026, and June 16, 2026. Interested individuals can check the full program and register through this link.

The program content is structured into four main areas identified in the digital competencies framework:

• Management and analysis of health and social data with AI support.
• Communication and collaboration focused on digital interaction, networking, and the creation and dissemination of digital health content.
• Digital awareness, including data protection, ethics, digital citizenship, digital well-being, and cybersecurity.
• Professional development to foster digital autonomy, problem-solving skills, and active participation in digital transformation.

This approach enables digital competencies to be applied in real-life situations. For example, it improves secure information management, enhances communication between teams and services, and strengthens the ability to interpret data or use digital tools with professional judgment. It is not just about knowing where the button is, but knowing when to press it, why, and with what guarantees.

With the Digital Skills Training Program, the promoting institutions take a step forward in providing a structured, practical, and applied response to the challenges of digital health—offering transferable tools for both clinical profiles and professionals in support, management, coordination, and organizational roles.