It’s no secret that technology is changing our lives for the better. In fact, digital health in Australia is moving faster than many workforces can keep up. Merely a decade ago, “digital health” in a hospital might have meant rolling out an electronic medical record (EMR) and training staff to document electronically. Now, it includes virtual care services, remote patient monitoring, electronic prescribing, AI tools and increasingly complex privacy, cyber security and data-sharing requirements. The real question isn’t whether new roles will appear. It’s whether we can plan for them properly, so nurses, midwives, clinicians and health services aren’t left in the dark. So, what roles are emerging, and what should we do about them?

It’s clear that the healthcare landscape is rapidly changing and new roles are emerging as a result. Virtual care started as a response to the global pandemic, but it’s clear that it is now here to stay. From phone and video consultations to hospital-at-home style models and remote support, there are plenty of benefits. However, it does require a great degree of coordination: triage protocols, escalation pathways, documentation standards and more. This is why regulators have strengthened expectations for safe virtual care. For example, Ahpra has updated its guidelines to reinforce that the same professional obligations apply in telehealth as in-person and to address risks that can arise. As virtual care expands, services often discover they need roles that don’t neatly fit into current structures.

AI tools are also being introduced to support documentation, summarise information, provide clinical decision support, interpret imaging, optimise rostering, and more. The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care has released an AI Clinical Use Guide to help clinicians use AI safely and responsibly. AI doesn’t just “arrive” and work. Someone has to do the unglamorous (but essential) work: workflow design, risk assessment, testing, training, incident review and ongoing monitoring. That tends to create new roles, or at least new responsibilities that need to be formally recognised.

Plus, as more care becomes more technology-based, health services rely on clean, shareable data. For example, the Australian Digital Health Agency recruits roles like Clinical Information Modellers, focused on designing clinical information products that support interoperability. That kind of work is foundational, and it can’t always be absorbed informally by existing staff without the skillset.

These new roles in Australia won’t look identical in every state, hospital, LHD, maternity service or community setting, but here is a general guide to roles we are starting to see:

1. Virtual care nurse/midwife roles: Clinicians who deliver and coordinate care remotely, including triage, patient education, escalation and follow-up. Without a clear role created, virtual care can become fragmented.
2. Remote patient monitoring (RPM) coordinators: RPM models are growing across Australia, and they require clinicians who can interpret patient data, respond appropriately, and coordinate escalation.
3. Clinical informaticians and “digital clinical leaders”. Clinicians who understand care delivery and digital systems, and can translate between frontline reality and technical design. Many digital projects fail (or create burnout) when clinical workflow isn’t truly built into the design.
4. Clinical safety and quality roles for digital + AI: As AI and digital tools expand, health services need people who can do clinical safety assurance, such as risk identification, mitigation planning, monitoring and incident response. “Set and forget” technology can create new patient safety risks.
5. Data control: These roles focus on ensuring information is accurate, complete, shareable and used appropriately,  including managing the practical realities of privacy and consent, and improving data quality. This is increasingly critical as AI tools rely on good data, and as care becomes more connected.
6. Cyber security and privacy roles: Cyber security isn’t just an IT problem anymore. It affects clinical safety and continuity of care. As more devices connect (and as ransomware risks persist), services need roles that can bridge cyber security and clinical operations.

The problem is, these roles often emerge accidentally:

• A senior nurse becomes the unofficial EMR super-user (on top of their usual load).
• A midwife becomes the “telehealth person” because they’re good on the phone.
• A clinician gets asked to “review the AI tool” without time, training or governance.
• Data quality becomes everyone’s job, meaning it becomes no one’s job.

That’s how burnout happens. Digital health can help, but it can also create hidden responsibilities that aren’t properly scoped, funded and supported.

The opportunity is huge: these roles can make care safer, smoother and more sustainable, especially for nurses and midwives. But only if we move from accidental role creation to deliberate workforce planning. The future workforce won’t just be “clinicians plus IT”. It will be a blended system of people who can deliver care, manage risk, improve information flow, and support patients across both physical and digital settings.