Healthcare CEO: Final Report

When asked to identify the business issues that would affect healthcare in the next two years, respondents were most likely to identify cost pressures and Medicare cutbacks; each of these responses was identified by 57 percent of respondents. About half of respondents – 49 percent – also identified the availability and retention of staff as a key business issue. Increasing patient safety/reducing medical errors (43 percent) and HIPAA compliance (41 percent) round out the top five responses. National Healthcare Information Infrastructure (NHII), non-HIPAA compliance issues and complying with managed care requirements, were each identified by fewer than five percent of respondents. No respondent identified mergers and/or consolidation between organizations.

Respondents also were asked to identify the two concerns or issues that they consistently dealt with on a daily basis. More than half of the respondents in this survey (57 percent) deal with physician relations daily; 35 percent of respondents indicated that competitive profitability was an issue that required attention daily. At the bottom of the list were medication administration and bidding on contracts—none of the respondents indicated that these issues necessitated their attention on a daily basis. HIPAA (six percent) and the cost of pharmaceuticals (eight percent) also require daily attention from a small number of respondents.

When asked if IT supported the concerns identified above, one-quarter of the respondents said IT fully supports the concerns that they deal with on a daily basis. Another 69 percent indicated that IT provided them with partial support. Only six percent of the individuals responding to this survey indicated that IT offered them no support in dealing with the challenges they face daily.

This is echoed in the responses that individuals provided to the following question—how closely does your facility’s IT strategic plan mirror your organization’s business plan? Almost half (45 percent) indicated that their facility’s IT plan mirrors the strategic plan of the organization. Another 41 percent indicated that the alignment was somewhat close. Only six percent suggested that alignment between an IT strategic plan and the organizational plan was not at all close.

Most of the CEOs in this study report that IT provides some level of support to achieving day-to-day goals. This noted, they were asked to identify what they considered to be the most significant barrier to successfully implementing IT in their facility. One quarter responded that they lacked adequate financial support for IT. Another 17 percent indicated that difficulty in proving IT’s quantifiable benefits/ROI was a barrier at their organization. The lack of a strategic IT plan (or the failure to execute the plan) and vendors’ inability to effectively deliver products were each identified by 10 percent of survey respondents.

Respondents also were asked to identify the biggest frustration they encountered regarding the use of information technology at their facilities. More than one third of respondents (37 percent) indicated that measuring the value was their biggest concern. Another 29 percent cited escalating costs as an issue that was most frustrating to them. Of least concern among those in this sample was IT leadership, which was identified by only six percent of respondents.

Despite these frustrations, CEOs at the facilities represented in this study are reasonably confident that their organization’s IT department will consistently deliver on-time, on-budget projects. Almost 55 percent of respondents indicated that they had some degree of confidence in their IT department, and another 35 percent indicated that they had a high degree of confidence in their IT department. Only four percent of respondents reported that they had little confidence in their IT department to consistently deliver on-time, on-budget projects.

Slightly more than half of the respondents in this sample, 55 percent, indicated that the CIO at their organization is considered part of the executive team.

Most (80 percent) of the respondents in this survey indicated that their facilities IT operating budget would increase for 2003. Specifically, 59 percent of respondents indicated that the IT operating budget at their facility would definitely increase in 2003; 22 percent indicated that such an increase was probable. Eight percent indicated that their budget would not change from 2002 to 2003, and approximately 10 percent indicated a probable budget decrease.

Half of the respondents indicated that more than 20% of their organization’s IT spending is controlled outside the IT department. Another 20 percent indicated that 11% to 20% of the spending was controlled outside the department. Only 14 percent of respondents indicated that all of IT spending was controlled within the IT department.