Page Loading

Digital health and care

Scotland is renowned for many medical firsts. Anaesthesia, bone grafts, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) – all were developed here. 

Digital health and care in Scotland

  • A skilled workforce

    There are around 7000 people already working in the digital health and care sector in Scotland.

  • World-class health informatics systems

    Scotland continues to develop digital solutions for healthcare, including picture archiving and the Community Health Index (CHI).

  • Industry-leading research facilities

    15 of Scotland's universities excel in research in life sciences, healthcare, and related disciplines.

Build an exciting and collaborative career in digital health and care projects. Scotland has one of Europe’s largest life science clusters – approximately 40,000 people work across 750 organisations . A world leader in digital  health and care innovation, the sector welcomes your skills to meet new challenges in an ever-changing global health climate.

Your skills are in demand

Digital health and care is one of the fastest-growing economic sectors in the world. Skilled new talent is the biggest need to boost growth for the sector in Scotland – especially the people who design and deliver digital solutions.

Scotland’s technology sector already employs around 74,000 people. There are many opportunities in the sector, with more than 7000 people already working in digital health and care technology.

The most in demand skills are clinical and social care informatics, big data, quality and assurance, cyber security and patient stratification. Digital pathology is also expanding quickly, with a growing network of pathologists trained to report digitally.

In Scotland, you can explore diverse opportunities in the digital health and care cluster in more than 135 companies. These range from innovative homegrown companies such as AxSys Technology opens in a new window , Aridhia opens in a new window and Sitekit opens in a new window – through to large multinationals such as LifeScan opens in a new window , Lockheed Martin opens in a new window , Leonardo opens in a new window , and Carnon Medical Research Europe opens in a new window . 

Join a community brimming with networks and industry initiatives that connect you to the organisations you need to succeed. These include:

Find the latest digital health roles in Scotland

We’re constantly innovating in the digital health and care sector. So, whatever your passion, and however niche your expertise, you’ll find a home for it in Scotland.

Find digital health jobs on LinkedIn  opens in a new window  

How Scotland supports digital health and care

The Scottish Government champions digital health and care, including progressive government policies make Scotland a fairer, better place to live and work.

Scotland’s Digital Health and Care Strategy opens in a new window supports growth in the sector, creating more jobs. The strategy also identifies how Scotland plans to use technology to reshape and improve services, support person-centred care and improve outcomes. 

If you want to broaden your expertise and future-proof your skills you can continue learning in Scotland with funded scholarships in a digital health and care masters course. 

The digital health sector at a glance

Scotland has an outstanding level of academic and industry collaboration. So, you can build your skills in a truly innovative environment. 

It’s an unrivalled destination to develop new digital solutions for healthcare, with world-class health informatics systems featuring picture archiving and a Community Health Index (CHI) register of every patient, including medical history from cradle to grave. 

Scotland’s expertise in areas such as precision medicine, which allows us to provide specific treatment to specific strata of the populations, and Informatics, coupled with defined research and development (R&D) infrastructure means you can be at the cutting edge of research. In fact, as a testbed for innovation, Scotland can replicate almost any environment in the world, from city-related problems to rural and remote island healthcare challenges. 

Reach for next-level innovation with support from Scotland’s centres of excellence – starting with the Digital Health and Care Innovation Centre opens in a new window , that promotes the sector’s growth, as well as digital transformation of the broader health and care sector. 

Other centres of excellence include the Innovation Centre for Sensor & Imaging Systems opens in a new window , the Data Lab opens in a new window and the Industrial Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research in Digital Diagnostics (ICAIRD) opens in a new window .

Enjoy living and working in a country known for academic excellence, with 15 Scottish universities performing world-leading research within life sciences, healthcare, and related disciplines. 

You’ll be in great company. You may even meet alumni from the University of Dundee, the top-ranking university for biological sciences with over 900 staff from over 60 countries. When you work in digital health and care, you’ll get to know the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics – the largest computer science department in the UK.

Quality of life

Scotland has lots to offer outside of work. 
 
Wherever you decide to work in Scotland, you’ll discover welcoming communities, rich history and vibrant culture. Enjoy shorter commutes, world-class education, free healthcare, and plenty of green space on your doorstep. 

Building a career in Scotland comes at a lower cost of living than many other major locations.  You’ll benefit from flexibility for hybrid and remote working while being fully supported by reliable digital connectivity. 

As one of the best-connected places in Europe, Scotland has six airports with daily direct flights to 150 destinations worldwide. We also have fast and frequent rail links to all parts of the UK. 

Moving to Scotland

We welcome people from around the world who want to build exceptional careers across Scotland. 

Learn more about moving to Scotland on Scotland.org opens in a new window