Technology is taking over and making life easier across all areas, and healthcare is no different. We book appointments online, review results through portals, attend video consultations and document care electronically. These tools have made systems more efficient and improved access for patients as well. But there is one thing missing. As care becomes more digital, human connection can quietly slip into the background – and both patients and clinicians feel it. Rebuilding connection in a digital care environment isn’t about ignoring technology altogether. It’s about using it in ways that protect the human moments that sit at the heart of nursing, midwifery and patient care. 

Connection in healthcare is central to:

• patient trust and engagement
• accurate assessment and shared decision-making
• emotional safety during vulnerable moments
• clinician satisfaction and professional identity

The challenge is that digital tools, while helpful, can unintentionally create distance. Screens interrupt eye contact. Templates interrupt conversations. Virtual models remove physical presence altogether. Over time, care can start to feel transactional rather than relational. That doesn’t mean digital care is the problem. It means how we design and use it matters.

Here’s when it becomes a problem:

• The screen becomes the centre of the interaction: Many clinicians are sitting with a patient while typing, clicking, or navigating multiple screens. Patients notice this too. When clinicians are focused on screens, patients may feel unheard, even if the care itself is excellent.
• Virtual care reduces physical presence: Virtual care has transformed access, especially for rural, remote and time-poor Australians. But it also removes many of the subtle cues clinicians rely on, such as body language, touch, environment and shared space.
• Efficiency pressures crowd out conversation: Digital systems are often introduced to improve efficiency, bringing shorter appointments, faster documentation and quicker throughput. There’s less time to sit, listen, explain, reassure, or simply be present.

When used thoughtfully, digital health can actually create space for better human care. The key is shifting the question from “What can this technology do?” to “How does this technology support relationships?”

Here’s how Australian services are starting to do that.

1. Using digital tools to give time back.
When systems reduce duplication and friction, they free clinicians to focus on patients.

For example:

• Well-designed electronic medication systems reduce interruptions
• Shared digital records reduce the need for repeated questioning
• Secure messaging reduces time spent chasing information

Queensland Health notes that its integrated electronic Medical Record supports more consistent workflows and access to information across services when implemented well.

2) Designing “screen-light” moments into care
Some services deliberately structure consultations so screens don’t dominate the interaction.

This might include:

• Documenting after key conversations rather than during
• Positioning screens so clinicians can maintain eye contact

These small design choices send a strong message: the person comes first.

3) Making virtual care more human
Virtual care doesn’t have to feel distant. Australian virtual care guidance encourages clinicians to adapt communication styles for digital settings, including clearer introductions, checking understanding, and being explicit about next steps.

Practical techniques that help:

• Naming the limitations (“I can’t examine you in person, so let’s talk through what I’m seeing”)
• Slowing the pace to allow for questions
• Using video to retain visual cues

Ensuring patients know how to follow up or escalate concerns

4) Using technology to strengthen continuity of care
Connection grows over time and digital tools can support that.

Examples include:

• Shared care plans are visible across settings
• Patient portals that reinforce education and follow-up
• Secure messaging that allows timely, appropriate contact

When information flows smoothly, patients don’t need to retell their story, and clinicians can build on previous conversations instead of starting from scratch.

5) Supporting clinicians’ own sense of connection and wellbeing
Connection is also about how clinicians feel at work. When digital systems isolate people, replacing team conversations with silent screen work, morale suffers.

That’s why some of the most important digital changes are team-focused:

• Secure role-based messaging that connects the right people quickly
• Digital collaboration tools that support shared problem-solving
• Virtual peer support and mentoring

Australia’s Nurse Midwife Health Program provides confidential, clinician-to-clinician support (including telehealth), recognising the importance of connection for workforce wellbeing.
When clinicians feel supported and connected, that flows directly into patient care. It’s tempting to frame this conversation as “digital versus human”. But digital health is here to stay. The real work is learning how to bring humanity into digital care. That means designing systems that reduce workload, protecting time for conversation, training clinicians in digital communication skills and valuing presence as much as productivity. In an increasingly digital care environment, it’s not something we can afford to leave to chance.