Background Effective communication and collaboration among health professionals are essential prerequisites for patient-centered care. However, interprofessional teams require suitable structures and tools to efficiently use their professional competencies in the service of high-quality care appropriate to the patient’s life situation. In this context, digital tools potentially enhance interprofessional communication and collaboration and lead to an organizationally, socially, and ecologically sustainable health care system. However, there is a lack of studies systematically assessing the critical factors for successfully implementing tools for digitally supported interprofessional communication and collaboration in the health care setting. Furthermore, an operationalization of this concept is missing. Objective The aim of the proposed scoping review is to (1) identify factors influencing the development, implementation, and adoption processes of digital tools for interprofessional communication in the health care sector and (2) analyze and synthesize the (implicit) definition, dimensions, and concepts of digitally supported communication and collaboration among health care professionals in the health care setting. Studies focusing on digital communication and collaboration practices among health care professionals, including medical doctors and qualified medical assistants, in any health care setting will be included in this review. Methods To address these objectives, an in-depth analysis of heterogeneous studies is needed, which is best achieved through a scoping review. Within this proposed scoping review, which adheres to the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology, 5 databases (SCOPUS, CINAHL, PubMed, Embase, and PsycInfo) will be searched for studies assessing digital communication and collaboration among various health care professionals in different health care settings. Studies focusing on health care providers or patient interaction through digital tools and non–peer-reviewed studies will be excluded. Results Key characteristics of the studies included will be summarized through descriptive analysis, using diagrams and tables. We will synthesize and map the data and conduct a qualitative in-depth thematic analysis of definitions and dimensions of interprofessional digital communication and collaboration among health care and nursing professionals. Conclusions Results from this scoping review may help in establishing digitally supported collaborations between various stakeholders in the health care setting and successfully implementing new forms of interprofessional communication and collaboration. This could facilitate the transition to better coordinated care and encourage the development of digital frameworks. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/45179

BACKGROUND Effective communication and collaboration between health professionals are essential prerequisites for patient-centred care. However, interprofessional teams require adequate structures and tools to adequately use their professional competencies at the service of high-quality care appropriate to the patient’s life situation. In this context, digital tools might enhance interprofessional communication and collaboration and lead to an organizationally, socially and ecologically sustainable healthcare system. However, there is a lack of studies, systematically assessing critical factors for successful implementation of digital communication tools in the healthcare setting. OBJECTIVE The aim is to analyse and synthetize the (implicit) definition, dimensions and concepts of digital communication and collaboration between healthcare professionals in the healthcare setting, and identify research gaps in the area of digital communication and collaboration. Studies focussing on digital communication and collaboration practices between healthcare professionals, including medical doctors and qualified medical assistances will be included in this review. METHODS Within this scoping review five databases (SCOPUS, CINAHL, PubMed, Embase, PsychInfo) will be searched for studies assessing digital communication and collaboration between various healthcare professionals in different healthcare settings. RESULTS Key characteristics of the papers included will be summarized through descriptive analysis, using diagrams and tables. We will synthesize and map the data and conduct a qualitative in-depth thematic analysis of definitions and dimensions of interprofessional digital communication and collaboration between health and nursing care professionals. CONCLUSIONS Results from this scoping review may help in establishing collaborations between various stakeholders in the healthcare setting and successfully implementing new forms of interprofessional communication and collaboration. This could facilitate the transition to a better-coordinated care and encourage the development of digital frameworks for integrated care.