Healthcare CIO: Final Report

Asked to identify their facility's top IT priorities today, survey participants most frequently cited upgrading security on IT systems to meet HIPAA requirements (48 percent) and implementing technology to reduce medical errors/promote patient safety (47 percent). These two areas were also the top two identified in the 2003 study.

Replacing/upgrading inpatient clinical systems—identified by 44 percent of respondents—also topped the list of current IT priorities. This represents an increase of six percent over last year.

In 2003, with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy deadline looming in April, 46 percent of survey respondents indicated that implementing privacy modifications to meet HIPAA requirements was a top priority for their organization (placing it third overall). In 2004, the number of respondents who identified this issue as a top priority decreased to 14 percent. Likewise, implementing EDI to meet HIPAA requirements decreased in importance; EDI was identified by 17 percent of respondents, compared to 29 percent in 2003. For 2004 respondents, HIPAA security requirements are the highest priority; however, this is also expected to decline over the next two years as organizations complete their HIPAA initiatives.

Other areas which showed an increase in importance, compared to 2003 data were:

• Implementing wireless systems (37 percent, compared to 20 percent in 2003)
• Process/workflow redesign (32 percent, compared to 16 percent in 2003)
• Training personnel to use systems (26 percent, compared to 15 percent in 2003)

Survey respondents were also asked to identify what their facility's top IT priorities would be over the next two years. Implementing technology to reduce medical errors/promote patient safety (48 percent), implementing an EMR (43 percent) and replacing/upgrading inpatient clinical systems (33 percent) ranked highest. These three areas were also among the top four identified in the 2003 study. As noted previously, HIPAA requirements continue to decline in importance as deadlines for compliance pass.

Compared to current IT priorities, implementing speech recognition systems is anticipated to increase in importance over the next two years. Thirteen percent of respondents indicated it was among their top IT priorities today, compared to 31 percent who indicate it will be among their top priorities in the next two years.

For the second consecutive year, increasing patient safety/reducing medical errors ranked highest among the business issues respondents believed would have the most impact on healthcare in the next two years; it was identified by 64 percent of respondents this year and 63 percent in 2003. The next two most frequently identified issues were cost pressures (54 percent) and patient/customer satisfaction (44 percent; an increase from 26 percent in 2003).

Since most HIPAA compliance deadlines have passed, this issue continues to decline in importance. In 2004, it was selected by only 27 percent of respondents, compared to 61 percent in 2003 and 81 percent in 2002.

Also showing a large decline was availability/retention of IT staff, decreasing from 31 percent in 2003 to nine percent in 2004; however, this may be attributed to a change in the category description. In 2003, the survey simply stated “availability/retention of staff.” In 2004, a distinction was made between IT and nursing staff, and thus while availability/retention of IT staff declined, nursing shortage was identified by 34 percent of respondents as a top business issue.

Three areas showed a substantial increase in importance from 2003 to 2004.

• Improving quality of care—43 percent, compared to 33 percent in 2003
• Clinical transformation—37 percent, compared to 23 percent in 2003
• Medicare cutbacks—35 percent, compared to 47 percent in 2003