Vendor CEO: Final Report

When asked to identify who, in their experience, was the primary IT decision maker within their clients’ organizations, more than one third of respondents (39 percent) indicated it was the chief information officer (CIO). This represents a slight decline from last year, when 45 percent of respondents indicated that CIOs were the primary IT decision maker. Chief executive officers (24 percent) and chief financial officers (17 percent) continue to round out the top three. However, compared to last year’s data, this year’s respondents were somewhat more likely to identify the CEO or CFO as the primary IT decision maker. Only five percent of respondents report that the chief medical officer is a primary IT decision maker, and none of the respondents identified chief nursing officers.

Systems integration (37 percent), process/workflow design (33 percent), and clinical champions (23 percent) were the most frequently cited areas in which respondents’ felt their healthcare clients had staffing needs. Network and architecture support, IT planning, and IT management were each identified by 22 percent of respondents. The largest decrease was observed for regulatory/reimbursement/accreditation issues; down from 26 percent in 2003 to nine percent in 2004.