In order to respond to our health care systems challenges, many innovative eHealth solutions have already been developed and many health care providers have invested in innovation. However, it often turns out that the solutions are not being implemented or are only partly used, hence the full potential of innovation is not exploited.

Common reasons for this are the lack of sufficient collaboration with the health and social care professionals during the solutions’ development phase, scarce overall digital competences and specific eHealth literacy within the staff, barriers to changing organisational practices, implementation of pathways and models of working that enable smart solutions to be deployed.

Research results point out that one of the areas to focus on to succeed in applying and implementing eHealth solutions is the development of digital skills and innovation readiness of the health and social care professionals and decrease resistance to change. The health workforce needs to have adequate instruments, capabilities and knowledge to face this rapidly evolving scenario, thus being fully aware and prepared to take advantage from the possibilities offered by the digital transformation in health and care.

The Erasmus+ DISH project, launched in November 2018, will address this key challenge by establishing triple helix partnerships, consisting of health and social care providers, educational institutions and enterprise representatives in 6 European countries: Denmark, Norway, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and Poland.

DISH is aimed at strengthening the innovation readiness and digital skills of health and social care staff regarding development, use and implementation of digital solutions in their everyday practice. The DISH project will equip the health and social care workforce with relevant knowledge and competencies as well as enabling them to use and implement eHealth solutions supported by national digitalisation strategies.

The objective of the DISH project is, therefore, to look into the present and future skills’ needs and develop, test and present different concepts, which will support health and care staff to better cope with the digital transformation of the health and social care sector. Through work-based learning and training in a secure environment, the health and social care staff will replicate day-to-day situations where the use of eHealth is involved. The project therefore will deliver hands on education, in the form of on-the-job training, and provide the skills that the labor market demands from the staff. The project will use the concept of simulation in order to create a secure environment for learning.

DISH is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, Key Action 2 Cooperation for Innovation and the Exchange of Good Practices – Sector Skills Alliances