From Digital Literacy to Clinical Intelligence: Reimagining Medical Education for the Age of AI, Virtual Care, and Data-Driven Medicine

Abstract

The realm of digital health is revolutionizing the Knowledge, Skills and Performance (KSP) required by physicians. In this narrative review we describe the transition from basic digital literacy to clinical intelligence in the context of health care education. The major Health Information Technology (HIT) applications in clinical education, namely Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), simulation, telemedicine, m-learning and learning analytics are presented. These new educational tools have the potential to support individualized learning, immediate feedback, competency assessment, and can facilitate preparation for health care that is increasingly delivered via digital means. Several challenges in the integration of these applications into health care education are identified including the risk of algorithmic bias, patient data privacy, the spread of misinformation, inequality in access to technology, preparedness of faculty to teach with technology, the risk of over-reliance on technology, and the potential to diminish the human element in patient care. Ultimately, health care curricula must move beyond mere mastery of the technical aspects of the digital tools and seek to equip future physicians with the ability to critically evaluate information generated by computers, manage uncertainty, protect patient data, and integrate the best of computational support for clinical care with professional ethics and values. To this end, we propose a DIGITAL-MED competency framework that includes 12 competencies covering data literacy, intelligent AI use, governance, inclusion, telemedicine, applied simulation, lifelong learning, medical ethics, evidence appraisal, and digital professionalism.

Keywords: Digital Health; Medical Education; Artificial Intelligence; Clinical Intelligence; Virtual Care; Digital Professionalism

Citation

Chatterjee S, Kundu S. From Digital Literacy to Clinical Intelligence: Reimagining Medical Education for the Age of AI, Virtual Care, and Data Driven Medicine. WebLog J Intern Med. wjim.2026.j2906. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23913080