There is nothing nurses cannot do and, in this case, that sentiment is applied to the future of digital health AND the intersection of digital health and the health of our planet. Zerina Tomkins, Associate Professor of Digital Health, Climate Change & Sustainable Healthcare at Monash University in Australia, gets us smart on two interesting, not-talked-about-enough facets of digital health: first, how nurses and midwives are central to its adoption and need more seats at the decision-making table when it comes to optimizing the tech that was put in place during the pandemic, and second, how digital health as an industry needs start thinking about becoming environmentally sustainable.

On the first point, Zerina chaired the Nursing and Midwifery Digital Health Conference at MedInfo 2023, so we chat about the gossip and buzz coming out of that event’s programming. “Nurses are pioneers, but also champions of Digital Health,” says Zerina, and the topics addressed during the event seem poised to help nurses gain an even greater foothold as digital health leaders. Top of the agenda: Advocacy for nurses and midwives as decision-makers in the digital health implementation process; establishment of education frameworks and digital literacy standards for both nursing students and experienced members of the workforce; and new career pathways for nurses that include digital.

At the 12-minute mark we change to the second topic and you can tune-in to find your new passion project at the intersection of digital health and climate change. Zerina began work as a researcher in this space after the severe Australian bushfires of 2019 and 2020 destroyed healthcare infrastructure, including the ability for people living in affected areas to receive virtual healthcare. Her research focuses on two questions: 1) how do we make digital healthcare “climate resilient” with a lower carbon footprint and 2) how do we use digital health and health informatics methodologies to support climate change adaptation by making it easier to capture and use real-time data for predictive modeling and intervention (think heat waves and strokes, etc.) Watch now to find out where her research is published and how YOU can get involved in the burgeoning movement of building ‘equitable and environmentally sustainable’ digital health care.

Filmed at MedInfo 2023 in Sydney, Australia, July 2023, with special thanks to the Australasian Institute of Digital Health.

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Jess DaMassa chats it up with the ‘who’s who’ of the health tech and healthcare innovation set on 'WTF Health - What's the Future, Health?' Catch 100's of interviews with leading healthcare technology startups and the VC investors, health insurance companies, big pharma co's, and hospital systems helping bring their new ideas into the healthcare establishment. From AI and Big Data to digital health, virtual care, telehealth, digital therapeutics, payment model innovation, and investing, Jessica helps you spot the trends and figure out what’s next.

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