Introduction 1 - Executive Summary 2 - Methodology 3 - Profile of Survey Respondents 4 - IT Priorities 5 - IT Barriers 6 - IT Applications 7 - IT Security 8 - Technology Adoption 9 - Web Site/Intranet Use 10 - IT Outsourcing/Satisfaction w/ Vendor Performance 11 - IT Budget and Staff 12 - Survey Sponsors 13 - How to Cite This Study 14 - For More Information

Profile of Survey Respondents¹

Nearly 90 percent of survey respondents were chief information officers (CIOs) or directors of information systems (IS). Specifically, 63 percent of respondents were corporate (system level) CIOs/IS directors; another 25 percent were hospital CIOs or IS directors. This is similar to the sample last year. The remaining respondents reported their position as department head/director, manager or “other.”

Over half of the survey respondents report they work either at the corporate offices of a multi-hospital system (35 percent) or at a multi-hospital system (18 percent). Another 37 percent report that they work at a stand-alone hospital. Thus, 89 percent of respondents worked for an organization headed by a hospital, compared to 86 percent in 2004 and 89 percent in 2003. Other types of healthcare facilities represented include physicians’ offices, mental/behavioral health facilities, long-term care facilities and home health agencies.

Respondents who work in a hospital setting were asked to identify the number of hospitals at which they oversee the technology decisions. Approximately 60 percent of respondents who work in a hospital report that they oversee technology decisions at one hospital, with another 23 percent reporting that they oversee technology at two or three hospitals. Six percent of respondents oversee the technology decisions at ten or more hospitals.

Annual gross revenue for the provider organizations represented in this year’s survey were:

• $50 million or less—14 percent;
• $51 million to $200 million—26 percent;
• $201 million to $350 million—14 percent;
• $351 million to $500 million—13 percent;
• $501 million to $1 billion—13 percent;
• More than $1 billion—13 percent; and
• Don’t Know/Not Applicable—9 percent.²

For the third consecutive year, the majority of respondents were from the East North Central region.³ This was closely followed by the South Atlantic⁴ and West South Central⁵ regions.

The number of full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) reported to be employed in the IT departments of participant’s organizations were:

• Fewer than Five—8 percent;
• Five to Nine—15 percent;
• 10 to 24—26 percent;
• 25 to 50—21 percent;
• 51 to 75—6 percent;
• 76 to 100—9 percent;
• More than 100—15 percent.

Nearly half of respondents (46 percent) indicated that their organization’s total IT operating budget was 2.5 percent or less of the organization’s total general budget, with another third (34 percent) indicating that this amount is between 2.6 to 3.5 percent. Eleven percent of respondents indicated that their organization spends 3.6 percent or more of its total general budget on IT. Eight percent of respondents did not report this information.

Figure 1. Participant Profile—Titles

Figure 2. Participant Profile—Facility Type

Figure 3. Participant Profile—Number of Hospitals

Figure 4. Participant Profile—Facility Revenue

Figure 5. Participant Profile—Region

Figure 6. Participant Profile—Number of IT FTEs

Figure 7. Participant Profile—IT Budget as a % of Operating Budget

¹From year to year, the HIMSS Leadership Survey does not survey an identical group of individuals. However, each year, one CIO per organization is invited to participate in the survey. Based on the similarities in respondent characteristics from one year to the next, associations will be drawn between 2003, 2004 and 2005 data.

²Numbers add up to more than 100 percent due to rounding

³Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin

⁴Washington, DC, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia

⁵Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas