Healthcare CIO: Final Report

Increasing patient safety/reducing medical errors is among the top business issues that will have the most impact on healthcare in the next two years, according to healthcare IT executives who participated in the 15th Annual HIMSS Leadership Survey. Focus on this issue is further demonstrated by participant responses regarding their current/future top IT priorities and the importance of IT applications. When asked to identify their organization's top IT priorities, both today and in the next two years, implementing technology to reduce medical errors/promote patient safety topped the list of future priorities and was second only to upgrading security on IT systems to meet HIPAA requirements among current priorities. While HIPAA compliance still tops the list of current IT priorities, its importance is expected to diminish considerably in the next two years as organizations complete their security upgrades. Bar coded medication management, clinical information systems, electronic medical record (EMR) and computer-based practitioner order entry (CPOE)—all of which can have a significant impact on reducing medical errors—were the most frequently cited application areas respondents considered most important to their organization over the next two years.

Other key survey findings and comparisons to 2003 results include:

Financial support: Financial support for IT continues to be an issue for healthcare IT executives. Nearly one quarter of respondents cited lack of adequate financial support as the most significant barrier to successfully implementing IT in their organization.

Security concerns: Primary concerns regarding the security of computerized medical information continue to be internal breaches of security and compliance with HIPAA security regulations. Over 70 percent of respondents indicated they plan to implement single sign-on in the next two years. Only 16 percent of respondent facilities are currently using this security tool.

Top technologies: High-speed networks, the Intranet, client server systems and wireless information systems continue to be the most frequently cited technologies currently in use at respondent's facilities.

Technology adoption: Over half of survey participants cited personal digital assistants (PDAs), bar coding technology and speech recognition as technologies their facility plans to implement in the next two years. Sixty percent of respondents indicated they have either developed a plan to implement an electronic medical record (EMR) system or they have begun to install EMR hardware and software.

Web-site use: A majority of respondents (71 percent) indicate their facility plans to add patient scheduling to their Web site in the next two years, compared to 12 percent who report this tool is currently in use.

IT budgets: Respondents were more likely to report their IT budgets will increase, compared to 2003 survey results. Additionally, these increases were projected to be slightly larger.

IT outsourcing: Seventy percent of respondents indicated that their facility currently outsources some IT functions. No projected decrease in outsourcing over the next two years was indicated.

Vendor satisfaction: In general, respondents were satisfied with the IT products/services they receive from suppliers, application vendors and consulting firms--sixty-four percent indicated they were satisfied, and seven percent indicated they were very satisfied.