Digital health literacy: Best practices and resources for osteopathic medical students

Editor’s Note: The below article contains contributions from the AOiA Digital Health Innovation Steering Committee.

The digital health opportunity

A generation ago, recognizing a dangerous heart rhythm required being in the right place at the right time. Today, it may begin on someone’s wrist.

A smartwatch alert can prompt a patient to seek care before symptoms escalate, accelerating diagnosis and treatment—and in some cases, preventing a serious event. What once might have gone unnoticed is now captured and acted upon in real time.

This is no longer speculative. Digital health tools—wearables, patient portals, telehealth platforms, AI-assisted documentation and clinical decision systems—are embedded in everyday care. They sit at the intersection of patient experience and clinical judgment, reshaping how medicine is practiced.

For osteopathic medical students, digital health literacy is no longer optional. It shapes how they are perceived by preceptors, how they engage with patients and how effectively they navigate clinical environments. When used well, these tools do not replace hands-on osteopathic practice, but instead strengthen it, supporting more attentive whole-person care.

Today’s clinical rotations routinely involve AI-supported documentation, integrated electronic records, telehealth visits, patient-generated data and decision-support systems. The prepared student is not distracted by these tools. These tools allow students to focus more on listening, reasoning and intentional, responsible care.

When U.S. Air Force Captain David Shumway, DO, was starting out in a clinic, a local AI model trained on his school notes helped him quickly bolster his clinical skills. By entering his findings into the system, he received real-time treatment recommendations.

“Using digital tools not only makes you a better physician,” he said, “it also improves outcomes for patients.”

A digital health foundation = a competitive advantage

The maturation of digital health is not just about new tools. It reflects a broader reconfiguration of clinical workflows, learning environments and professional expectations.

As May Lin, DO, assistant dean of graduate medical education at Touro University, explains, students who upskill and adapt to new learning paradigms in responsible ways strengthen their critical thinking skills and naturally apply precision medicine in practice.

“It shows in their clinical reasoning,” she notes. “These students tend to perform well in audition rotations and are more competitive for their desired residency programs.”

Digital health best practices for students

Students who are more comfortable with digital health tools often have a meaningful edge during clinical training. Norman Vinn, DO, and members of AOiA’s Digital Health Innovation (DHI) Steering Committee collected insights from small-group interviews to prepare the following best practices for medical students working with digital health tools:

Start with documentation. Whether using a scribe, dictation or direct entry, responsible note creation remains a hallmark of clinical professionalism. AI tools can assist with drafting, but they cannot replace clinical reasoning. Students must treat AI-generated content as a starting point—verifying accuracy, correcting bias and clearly prioritizing problems with supporting rationale. Well-crafted notes communicate effectively, support sound decision-making and reduce the risk of misinterpretation. Preceptors quickly recognize documentation that reflects disciplined thinking.

Next, master EHR synthesis. Modern records are dense ecosystems of tabs, lab panels, imaging reports, consult notes and patient messages. The skilled student learns to integrate these elements into a coherent clinical narrative. They begin with the patient’s chief concerns, organize assessments around prioritized problems, reconcile medications with care plans and document shared decision-making. Digital decision-support tools are used thoughtfully to streamline workflow rather than add clutter. Notes that enhance clarity and efficiency become an asset to the entire care team.

Wearables require interpretation, not automation. Devices now generate streams of data—resting heart rate, variability, sleep metrics, activity levels and rhythm alerts. Digitally literate students treat these metrics as context, not conclusions. They look for longitudinal patterns, explore how data aligns with lived experience and consider external influences such as stress, environment and medications. Rather than anchoring decisions on isolated readings, they assess trends, device reliability and clinical relevance. In doing so, wearable data becomes an extension of the osteopathic lens—illuminating the relationship between behavior, environment and physiology.

Telehealth is now a core clinical competency. As highlighted in guidance from the National Library of Medicine and reinforced through clinical practice, virtual care is different and it demands adaptation. High-performing students demonstrate fluency in both technology and communication. They confirm identity and consent, establish clear agendas, critically evaluate home-generated data and troubleshoot technical issues without compromising rapport. They learn to interpret nonverbal cues through digital interfaces while maintaining therapeutic presence.

AOIA as your digital hub

Building digital health fluency should not depend on chance exposure, individual mentors or trial and error. It should be intentional, supported and aligned with the realities of osteopathic practice. That is the role of American Osteopathic Information Association (AOiA).

By partnering with educational institutions and tailoring resources for osteopathic contexts, AOiA helps ensure that digital health literacy becomes a shared foundation—not a niche skill—for students and practicing clinicians alike. Through accessible webinars, mentored learning communities and hands-on practice pathways, AOIA translates emerging technologies into practical, usable competencies.

At the center of this work is the DHI Steering Committee, which is advancing a strategic roadmap for osteopathic-specific digital health curricula. Its goal is to equip the profession with the knowledge, skills and resources needed to integrate digital health and artificial intelligence responsibly into both education and clinical care. This work ensures consistency, relevance and quality across training environments.

Complementing this effort is the Digital Health Innovation Community of Practice, which connects learners with experienced clinicians and peers through case-based learning and shared problem-solving. Members exchange workflows, micro-skills and real-world lessons from their practices. Just as importantly, they cultivate a shared culture of ethical, patient-centered technology use. For students, this means you do not have to navigate digital transformation alone or reinvent processes with each rotation. You enter a living network of experience and accelerate your growth.

As Robert Lloyd, clinical informatics fellow at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, observes, AOiA’s DHI Steering Committee is well-positioned to guide future physicians through an evolving digital landscape. He also emphasizes AOIA’s commitment to mentorship through the Emerging DO Platform, which pairs learners with clinicians experienced in digital health, who can help navigate the expanding ecosystem of tools and applications.

AOIA’s impact is further strengthened through strategic partnerships with organizations such as Digital Medicine Society, American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine and American College of Lifestyle Medicine. These collaborations align osteopathic education with national standards, research and best practices—ensuring students are prepared for real-world clinical environments.

Get started on your digital transformation

Digital health is not just a trend, it’s a transformation in how care is delivered. For students, digital health success begins with intentional practice: refine documentation, navigate EMRs, interpret data and communicate effectively in every format. AI may surface information, but students must interpret, prioritize and apply it using sound clinical judgment.

Success continues by engaging with the osteopathic community—through AOIA’s Digital Health Education Task Force and the DHI Community of Practice. Share questions and small wins. Offer tips that helped you. Seek mentorship and be mentor-able (respond to feedback with curiosity, not defensiveness). Community shortens the learning curve and expands perspective. Students are not passive users of digital tools; they are active participants shaping how technology is integrated into care and learning. Don’t miss our upcoming educational events here.

Success is maintained by keeping the focus on people. Technology should serve clinical judgment and enhance presence, not replace it. This is the competitive edge that matters: being a clinician whose judgment is sharpened by information and whose presence is sustained by design. Osteopathic medicine’s commitment to whole-person care is the anchor. Digital health literacy is the sail. Practice both, and when you do, technology becomes a companion to your care, and patients feel the difference.

Related reading:

Ethical considerations regarding AI use in healthcare: How much is too much?

3 ways we can all promote DOs and the osteopathic medical profession