"Being a successful healthcare professional does not just depend on your education. There are certain skills, such as change management, emotional intelligence and business administration, that are never taught in medical school, but are as necessary as clinical skills for success as a healthcare professional," said Christoph Wald, Chairman, Radiology, Lahey Hospital and Medical Center.

Despite data and technology being integral to their daily lives, personally and professionally, 35% of younger healthcare professionals say they are overwhelmed by the amount of digital patient data. Additionally, 35% do not know how to use the data to inform patient care.


Harnessing technology to help transform healthcare

Younger healthcare professionals are convinced of the potential of data and technology to improve both their own work experience and that of their patients. An overwhelming 78% agree that the societal benefits of improved patient care from the use of anonymized health data outweigh the perceived data privacy concerns to the individual. Additionally, 81% agree the right digital health technologies have the potential to reduce their workload.

Challenged and frustrated with digital health

However, the next generation of healthcare professionals also appears to have a love/hate relationship with digital health, citing lack of interoperability as a top barrier to adopting additional health information technology. Of those surveyed, 64% said sharing restrictions can result in incomplete digital patient data, while 39% state the digital patient data available to them isn't actionable, and 33% saying what's available to them isn't relevant.

Yet, despite broadly discussed challenges and pain points, younger healthcare professionals see digital health technology as a foundation to improve the delivery of care. In fact, digital health records are seen as the most beneficial digital health technology for improving patient care over the next five years (25%). This is in comparison to those who selected AI to integrate diagnostics (22%), healthcare professional-to-healthcare professional telehealth (20%), AI to optimize operational efficiency (20%) and healthcare professional-to-patient telehealth (19%).

Leaving the healthcare profession as a result of stress

Younger healthcare professionals juggle immense responsibility with long working hours, leading to stress and potential burnout. Nearly three-quarters of respondents (74%) say they regularly experience work-related stress and 34% report that they have considered leaving the healthcare profession as a result of this stress.

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