Al Baalharith, I.M.; Aboshaiqah, A.E. A Delphi Study on Identifying Competencies in Virtual Healthcare for Healthcare Professionals. Healthcare2024, 12, 739.
Al Baalharith, I.M.; Aboshaiqah, A.E. A Delphi Study on Identifying Competencies in Virtual Healthcare for Healthcare Professionals. Healthcare 2024, 12, 739.
Al Baalharith, I.M.; Aboshaiqah, A.E. A Delphi Study on Identifying Competencies in Virtual Healthcare for Healthcare Professionals. Healthcare2024, 12, 739.
Al Baalharith, I.M.; Aboshaiqah, A.E. A Delphi Study on Identifying Competencies in Virtual Healthcare for Healthcare Professionals. Healthcare 2024, 12, 739.
Abstract
Background: Virtual care adoption accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the need for healthcare professionals to develop relevant competencies. However, limited evidence exists on the core competencies required for quality virtual care delivery. Objective: This study aimed to identify the critical competencies physicians, nurses, and other health professionals need for adequate virtual care provision in Saudi Arabia using a Delphi method. Methods: A 3-round Delphi technique was applied with a panel of 42 experts, including policymakers, healthcare professionals, academicians, and telehealth specialists. In round 1, an open-ended questionnaire elicited competencies needed for virtual care. Competencies were distilled and rated for importance in rounds 2 and 3 until consensus was achieved. Results: Consensus emerged on 151 competencies across 33 domains. The most prominent domains were communication (15 competencies), professionalism (13), leadership (12), health informatics (5), digital literacy (5) and clinical expertise (11).
Keywords
Virtual care; competence; competencies; education; framework; Delphi; health care professionals; Saudi Arabia
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Other
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
