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

IT Barriers

Lack of financial support continues to be the most significant barrier to IT implementation.

For the fifth consecutive year, survey respondents identify lack of adequate financial support for IT as the most significant barrier to a successful implementation of IT at their organization. This response was chosen by 20 percent of respondents. Respondents also indicated that vendors’ inability to satisfactorily deliver products and services was a barrier; this was identified by nearly 18 percent of respondents. Lack of staffing resources rounds out the top three responses, identified by 13 percent of IT executives participating in this survey. Difficulty proving ROI and a lack of clinical leadership were each selected by ten percent of respondents.

For the first time in the 2005 survey, respondents were asked to identify to what extent laws and regulations that prohibit technology sharing with ambulatory clinics (such as the Stark Law) posed a barrier to the successful implementation of IT. This response was selected by less than one percent of respondents.

Overall, the responses identified by healthcare IT executives responding to the 2004 survey were not remarkably different from those who took the survey in 2003.

Figure 11. Most Significant Barriers to Implementing IT