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 Applications

Electronic medical records continue to be a future focus of healthcare organizations; only 17 percent of organizations do not presently have a plan to implement an EMR.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents indicate that electronic medical records (EMRs) was the IT application that was cited most frequently by survey respondents as being the healthcare application area they considered to be important to their organization in the next two years. The number of respondents selecting this item as important has steadily increased over the course of the past several years. The 62 percent of respondents who selected this option in 2005 can be compared to 52 percent in 2004 and 41 percent in 2003.

Bar coded medication management (55 percent), clinical information systems (52 percent) and computerized provider order entry (CPOE) (50 percent) were also frequently selected by respondents. The number of respondents identifying each of these options increased slightly compared to 2004 survey results.

The number of survey respondents identifying Web-based applications as important to their facility in the next two years continues to decline in importance, though at a slower pace than it has in the past. Identified as a top application by 17 percent of survey respondents in 2005, this was identified by 70 percent of those individuals responding to the 2000 survey.

In 2005, approximately 18 percent of respondents indicated that their organization has a fully operational EMR system in place; this is compared to approximately 19 percent of the healthcare IT executives responding to the 2004 survey. By survey definition, this means that healthcare facilities are electronically maintaining information about an individual’s lifetime health status in a completely paperless fashion. An additional 42 percent of respondents indicate that their organization is presently installing EMR hardware and software, while 22 percent have developed a plan to implement an EMR. Only 17 percent of respondents report that they have not yet begun to plan for the implementation of an EMR.

Figure 12. Most Important Applications (Next Two Years)

Figure 13. Status of Electronic Medical Record Implementation