Master of Digital Health (Online) curriculum

Health data is foundational to safe, effective and interoperable digital health systems, and the ability to understand, model and govern these data is essential for health and ICT professionals. Students will develop core high-level competencies in health data structures, standards, terminologies, system architectures and governance frameworks, supporting evidence-based decision making, digital transformation and the safe use of health technologies in clinical and organisational settings. Through the study of digital health ecosystems, electronic health records, interoperability standards, data models, ontologies, storage platforms and governance systems, they will learn how data are created, managed, exchanged and safeguarded across the health sector, with the unit integrating practical and strategic perspectives to support the application of standards, enhance system usability and ensure ethical and legislative compliance in the use of health information. By engaging with real-world case studies, emerging technologies and contemporary data practices, students will develop the knowledge required to contribute effectively to digital health design, implementation and policy development. The aim of this unit is to enable students to understand and apply health data standards that support safe, interoperable and future-ready digital health systems.

Strategic management in health service delivery addresses health system design, delivery and evaluation. Globalisation has brought the need for healthcare management to be strategically planned and delivered with an awareness of both local and global implications because a broad-based response or approach may be required to address health service issues. This unit is required for students to develop a comprehensive understanding of the knowledge and skills, including critical analytical skills, required to apply a contextual, integrative approach to strategic management in health service delivery. In this unit students will consider the broad context of strategic health service management with reference to health service funding and health service delivery. Students will reflect on how awareness of strategy as it applies to health-related issues can influence consumer advocacy and political lobbying for the common good. In critically evaluating strategic, contemporary health service management students will develop skills in addressing national and international health priorities from a long term, consultative, social justice and equity perspective. The aim of this unit is to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the theoretical basis underpinning health care management strategy and the ability to evaluate the implications of strategic decisions on health outcomes.

Given its increasing reliance on advanced digital technologies and data accessibility, contemporary healthcare practice is faced with a range of complex ethical and legal challenges that need to be carefully understood and addressed. Ranging from issues concerning the ownership and secure use of patient data, to issues in research ethics, and the uses of artificial intelligence in therapeutic decision making, powerful new and emerging technologies raise many issues that require careful consideration. This unit names and explores such challenges with the aim of equipping students with the knowledge and skills to think, judge and respond appropriately on the basis of clear ethical principles, to current and emerging challenges in professional practice, thereby ensuring respect for human dignity whilst working for the common good. In so doing, it also provides insights into the larger social and commercial contexts within which clinical and healthcare management decisions are made.

Knowledge represents primary sources of truth, a crucial and valuable asset supporting the health system. The current digital health revolution has sped up the acquisition of new knowledge. The amount of new knowledge generated is far too much for any one person to be aware and make use of. All health-related knowledge needs to be readily accessible when required to support decision making at any level within the healthcare system. No clinician has the time to wade through multiple documents in order to make use of the best available evidence. In this unit, students will be introduced to the core concepts in data, information and knowledge management within a digital health ecosystem, focusing on the need to comply with a number of health informatics standards, developed to meet local, national and global professional practice and research network needs. Students will learn how knowledge can be represented as computable formalisms to enable computers to make use of and integrate clinical guidelines and protocols within health information systems and/or any health-related application or to make this knowledge accessible on-line as and when required. Key concepts will include electronic knowledge processing of timely new knowledge, governance and knowledge use at points of decision making throughout the digital health ecosystem. The aim of this unit is to equip students with the knowledge, understanding and skill required to promote compliance with scientific principles and legislative requirements in relation to health knowledge management in order to advance the preservation of data privacy and security, to support human dignity and safety in a manner that benefits the population at large.

Digital transformation is fundamental to the delivery of safe, efficient and person-centred healthcare, and the ability to understand, design and implement transformative digital practices is essential for health and ICT professionals. Students will develop core capabilities in systems thinking, digital maturity assessment, governance, human-centred design and the strategic use of enabling technologies, supporting improved clinical outcomes, enhanced patient and provider experience, and sustainable organisational innovation. Through the study of digital health ecosystems, technology platforms, data, artificial intelligence, automation, change management and evaluation frameworks, students will learn how digital solutions are conceived, developed, implemented and measured across diverse healthcare environments, with the unit integrating practical and strategic perspectives to strengthen adoption, promote quality, enhance safety, and support clinical decision making. By engaging with real-world case studies, emerging technologies and contemporary digital health practices, students will develop the knowledge and applied skills required to contribute effectively to digital transformation, service redesign and innovation across the health sector. The aim of this unit is to enable students to understand and apply digital transformation principles that support safe, scalable and future ready healthcare systems.

Health care professionals work in environments that rely on secure information systems to deliver safe and effective care. As digital systems become more integrated into clinical practice, the ability to recognise and manage cybersecurity risks has become an essential professional capability. This unit supports the achievement of course learning outcomes by enabling students to develop an understanding of contemporary cyber threats pertinent to health services and systems, build appropriate skills needed for protecting patient information, and adopt tools and techniques for maintaining system integrity and ensuring organisational resilience. Students will examine common vulnerabilities in electronic health records, medical devices, clinical communication systems and telehealth platforms, and will learn how risk assessment and mitigation strategies can be applied within everyday health care settings. They will explore the ethical, legal and professional responsibilities associated with safeguarding health information in Australia. Thus, the aim of this unit is to equip students with the knowledge and practical competencies required to recognise, reduce and respond to cybersecurity risks in the health care environment.

To optimise the potential of digital health, practitioners in this space require advanced knowledge of theoretical concepts and evidence-based approaches to its application. This unit aims to provide a ‘capstone’ experience for students by affording them a research-based learning experience, involving the opportunity to investigate an area of relevance to the industry. Students will research a topic of interest, critically analyse relevant theories, concepts and/or data, and communicate the outcomes and its application in a meaningful way to a variety of audiences. Students will apply knowledge and skills developed in previous units to address the specific area of interest, with the results of their enquiry reported in a form consistent with industry expectations. The aim of this unit is to provide students with the opportunity to undertake self-motivated study and transition to life-long learning as a self-reliant and critically reflective professional.

Professional practice is an integral aspect of the transition from learner to practitioner. It provides students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge, understanding and skills in a work and/or organisational context. Through a professional practice placement, students will learn both about a specific role, a company or subindustry within digital health & how the different areas of digital health operate together . This unit delivers a ‘capstone’ experience for students by providing a professional placement in a digital health environment. Students engage in a work environment to provide experiential contexts for the development and application of their learnings. The aim of the unit is to develop in students professional/workplace skills and networks to meet the goals of the professional or industry body. The experience also enhances the reciprocal flow of knowledge and its application between the University and the workplace or community setting in which the student is placed. The unit is designed to create a safe experience in peer review because of the importance of maintaining standards of professional and ethical practice in the workplace.

Health professional demographics show an ageing workforce. Health professionals who are quite new in their careers will increasingly be offered higher level duties in terms of health leadership and management positions. These management positions will be within an environment that is both complex and dynamic, but where quality and safety are paramount. One aspect of the complexity of health service organisations is organisational culture. This unit is important for students who are positioned in, or aspiring to, health leadership or management roles which require them to have specialised knowledge and skill in evaluating solutions to complex problems associated with the dynamics of organisational culture. In this unit, students will critically analyse healthcare organisations and the management of healthcare staff from within the context of organisational culture. This aspect of health management will be considered from within a framework of safety and quality and with the notion of a safety-culture being highlighted. Strategies to create safe and supportive workplace cultures will be considered. The aim of this unit is to provide students with a sound understanding of theories of organisational culture and the dynamic inter-relationship between the structure of health services and the agency of the health practitioner, in order to enable them to implement effective management strategies that are both safe and conducive to quality healthcare.

Adverse events and poor quality of health care can have a significant impact on health care costs and health system sustainability. This unit is essential for future leaders in health care who require specialised knowledge and skill in applying effective quality measures in a digital environment to administer culturally safe health services across a variety of healthcare contexts. In this unit, students will explore the emergence of the quality movement and accreditation and safety standards that have been progressively driven by consumer expectations around safe, quality care, in preparing to become effective health care managers. This foundational knowledge is required to enable interpretation and evaluation of paper-based and digitally supported quality and safety processes and to develop a repertoire of quality improvement tools used to create strategies that improve quality and safety processes. Additionally, students will be introduced to the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards relevant to the role of leaders and others in improving cultural safety and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. The aim of this unit is to ensure that students can effectively promote quality and safety that will lead to better health outcomes as well as cost efficiencies in a variety of health care settings. Managing health care in this way ensures that safe, quality care is a transformative process of continuous improvement that respects the dignity of individuals and contributes to the common good.

Leaders in healthcare must develop sound knowledge and skill in leading service transformation through transformation of self and others. Today’s leaders require personal leadership characteristics as well as the ability to facilitate others to achieve their potential, through role modelling, supporting and empowering. This unit is necessary for future leaders who can lead others in planning, implementing and evaluating strategies and tools designed to resolve complex problems and optimise health for diverse population communities, such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, among others, through innovative health administration practices that shape and improve healthcare systems. The aim of this unit is to introduce students to contemporary theory-based leadership practices in order to develop knowledge and skill necessary for leading health service transformation.

Health managers today need to effectively manage the health care workforce within their area of responsibility. Therefore, this unit is necessary for current and future health leaders and managers, who will be able to apply evidence-based knowledge and solutions to manage workforce. This includes skills to analyse, evaluate, generate, and communicate solutions to complex problems such as forecasting workforce demand and supply, staff recruitment and retention and facilitating employee wellbeing and engagement. Health managers who have specialised knowledge and skill are in a good position to ensure organisational best fit by aligning individual employee goals with organisational goals. Further, health managers who are skilled in evaluating workforce-related problems and employ ethical approaches to workforce management can provide their organisation with a competitive advantage within the health sector. In this unit, workforce management principles and practices will be critically examined. Strategies and skills to promote employee well-being while maximising the allocation and use of resources and enhance accountability will be discussed. Employment relations, diversity, ethics, employee wellbeing and social responsibility will be critically analysed within this context.

As an aspiring health care leader, it is essential for students to understand the contexts within which healthcare decisions are made including social, economic, political and technological contexts. While many healthcare decisions are made locally, decisions made at the broader policy level will have an impact on all aspects of health care and on all practitioners working within the health care system. This unit supports students in developing the ability to plan, implement and evaluate policy-related strategies that promote effective, culturally safe health service administration in a variety of health settings and among diverse communities, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Students will also be supported to develop specialised skills in analysing and evaluating solutions to complex problems that are associated with policy development, planning and implementation as well as the consequential outcomes of policy decisions. This unit is founded on a social justice and equity framework with a special focus on evaluating policies that impact on the health of disadvantaged people, as well as on strategies that will reform policymaking, delivery and financing of health care in Australia. The aim of this unit is to provide opportunity for students to explore policy decision-making processes, to analyse underlying assumptions associated with policy decisions, to evaluate outcomes of policy decisions and to appraise potential issues for policy reform.

Future health service delivery will undergo substantial change due to an ageing population, high morbidity due to chronic diseases, technological advancement, changes in consumer expectations and economic constraints. These types of influence create pressure for new models or care and new, sustainable ways of building efficiencies into healthcare processes. This unit is essential for students to be able to develop theory-based knowledge and skill in redesigning health services, to be able to critically evaluate the role of evidence-based ethical practice in leading and managing process improvements and in creating effective cost efficiencies and better resource utilisation within a range of health care settings. Therefore, the aim of this unit is to prepare leaders and managers of the future who can initiate and monitor health service redesign in practice that will lead to sustainable change in health service processes, improvements in organisational performance and better health outcomes.

Leaders and managers in health care are expected to have a range of skills necessary to meet the challenges involved in leading their staff through diverse and dynamic workplace environments. These challenges include ensuring patient safety, managing staff productivity, performance and retention, as well as taking lead responsibility for quality improvement and cost efficiencies. This unit is necessary for students to be able to meet those types of challenges. Students will be supported in developing an advanced range of theory-based knowledge and skills that guide and shape practice improvement. This will be achieved through creative solutions and facilitative processes that promote staff engagement, empowerment and retention, support team cohesion and collaboration and are more likely to result in a safe and high-quality healthcare environment. Facilitative leadership, coaching and mentoring is based on mutual respect, trust and value alignment resulting in collective responsibility for patient safety, and fosters innovation in practice by promoting creativity and critical thinking. This unit aims to prepare students with advanced facilitative leadership, coaching and mentoring knowledge and skills that are required to build their capacity to apply a systems approach in facilitating, coaching and mentoring staff in working effectively together for the common good in a variety of healthcare settings.

Understanding, using and interpreting statistics is crucial to health science research and practice, particularly in monitoring health outcomes and decision-making processes about interventions. This unit will develop students’ knowledge of fundamental statistical concepts, such as descriptive and inferential statistics, common statistical tests and statistical methods frequently used in health science research. This will include hypothesis testing, estimation, associations, modelling relationships and prediction using different methods such as regression analyses. Throughout the unit, students will consolidate their understanding of statistical theory through its application to practice. While there are some formulae and computational elements to the unit, the emphasis is on interpretation and concepts. Besides the theoretical material, this unit will also enable students to run basic analyses using common statistical software. Using this software, students will analyse simulated health science data sets and then interpret the results obtained. This unit aims to extend students’ statistical understanding and analytical expertise, which can then be applied to practice through critical appraisal statistical methods used in health science research.

This unit equips students with a strong foundation in qualitative research methods, preparing them to undertake research-based projects in health care. Designed as an advanced introduction to qualitative research methods, the course explores key qualitative research theoretical and paradigmatic frameworks, methodologies, methods and ethical considerations, and their applications in health-related research. Students will engage with a range of qualitative research approaches, including participant observation, in-depth interviews, and focus groups, gaining an in-depth understanding of qualitative data collection, analysis, and reporting. Ethical considerations, particularly in research involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, will be emphasised, alongside discussions on reflexivity and rigour. The unit also explores the future direction of qualitative research, including practical applications. Students will develop essential skills in research design, conducting interviews, analysing qualitative data, and disseminating qualitative research. By the end of the course, students will have the confidence and expertise to design and conduct rigorous qualitative research that addresses critical health challenges.