A long-running census of the Australia and New Zealand specialist digital health workforce returns on May 1,  aiming to track how roles and skills are shifting as demand for data, AI and digital capability accelerates.

The Specialist Digital Health Workforce Census has been running since 2018 and is designed to build a picture of professionals working across health informatics, data and information management.

This year’s survey will again invite clinicians, informaticians, data specialists and health information professionals to participate.

Previous census findings have pointed to a workforce in transition, with traditional health information roles evolving as well as rapidly growing demand for data analytics, interoperability expertise and digitally enabled models of care.

The census will inform workforce planning, education and policy, at a time when health services are scaling electronic medical records, virtual care and AI-enabled tools.

By tracking changes over time, the study is expected to provide insight into whether the sector is building the workforce capability needed to support increasingly complex digital health environments.